How do I see the author of a PDF?

Open it in Acrobat/Reader and go to File > Properties > Description, or on Mac use Preview > Tools > Show Inspector. The Author, Creator and Producer fields plus creation dates are listed there. The Vantawebs preview on this page shows the same fields automatically.

Why does my Word-exported PDF show my name?

Word fills the Author field from your Office account / user profile at export time, plus Creator ('Microsoft Word') and Producer strings. You can change the name under File > Info for future files, but already-exported PDFs must be stripped with a metadata remover.

Does removing PDF metadata change the document content?

No. Proper cleaning only touches the Info dictionary and XMP packet — pages, text, images and layout are byte-identical. Always verify by reopening Properties after cleaning and confirming the fields are blank.

How to Remove Author Name from PDF

That "anonymous" PDF probably has your name in it. Word, Google Docs and LibreOffice write Author, Creator, Producer, creation/modification dates and full XMP metadata into every PDF export. Anyone opening File > Properties (or Document Properties in Acrobat/Preview) sees it in two clicks.

The stakes are real: whistleblowers leaking documents, job seekers sending CVs while still employed, journalists protecting sources, students submitting blind-review papers, and lawyers sharing redacted files have all been identified through PDF author fields. Filenames like John-Smith-resume.pdf plus embedded authorship make deanonymization trivial.

What leaks: Author, Creator (e.g. "Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365"), Producer (PDF engine version), Created/Modified timestamps, Keywords, embedded XMP packet, sometimes the original file path and logged-in account name.
How to check: Acrobat/Reader: File > Properties > Description. Preview (Mac): Tools > Show Inspector. Or drop the PDF in the tool below — the preview lists every field found.
Why Office settings are not enough: unchecking "personal information" helps future exports but never fixes files already saved, and Google Docs offers no author toggle at all — every Docs PDF says what it says.
What else to scrub: tracked-change author initials baked into comments, hidden text layers under redactions (black boxes that copy-paste!), and embedded fonts carrying subset names.

Sensitive document? Read this first

Strip a copy, keep the original. After cleaning, reopen Properties and confirm Author/Creator/Producer are blank and dates show epoch. For maximum safety combine with a filename change and fresh timestamps — Vantawebs resets dates to epoch automatically. Background on document forensics: what metadata hides in files.

How Vantawebs cleans PDFs: it opens the document with PDF-Lib entirely in your browser, blanks Title/Author/Subject/Keywords/Producer/Creator, resets creation/modification dates, and deletes the XMP Metadata and Info catalog entries — then re-saves. Content pages are untouched.

Clean it now: drop your PDF below for a one-click wipe. Nothing uploads — critical for confidential documents — and batch mode handles whole folders of CVs or exhibits.

Beyond metadata — true redaction: black highlight boxes are not redaction; the text underneath copies, searches and leaks. For sensitive PDFs, use real redaction (Acrobat Pro Redact tool or PDF24's redaction), then strip metadata as the final step — redaction tools sometimes add their own producer stamps. Finish by renaming the file neutrally (report-2026-09.pdf, never jane-final-FINAL.pdf).