Does the viewer keep my file?

No. The viewer reports the record the PDF carries and keeps nothing once you leave the page. No account is needed to use it.

Why are some fields missing?

Either the application that wrote the PDF left them empty, or they are stored inside a compressed object stream that this viewer does not open. Syft reports the second case as not readable rather than pretending the field is absent.

Can it read an encrypted PDF?

No. An encrypted PDF stores its metadata strings as ciphertext, so the fields are reported as not checked. The Syft workspace can inspect an unlocked copy.

Can I remove the metadata?

Not on this page: rewriting a PDF safely needs a writer, and a wrong rewrite corrupts the file. The Syft workspace produces a sanitised copy and re-inspects it to prove the removal.

Does PDF metadata show who wrote a document?

It shows what the writing application recorded, which is often the account name on the computer that exported the file and the tool that produced it. That is a clue about process, not proof of authorship, and it can be edited or absent.

PDF Metadata Viewer

Read the PDF's own record: title, author, creator application, producer, dates and page count. The record travels with the file wherever it goes; this shows you exactly what it says.

Published 28 September 2026Syft

Your PDF

Drop a PDF here

The file is read on this page and nothing is kept once you leave.

Choose a PDF

What the file records

A PDF carries a small dictionary of facts about itself: who made it, with what, and when. Drop one to see the fields it actually contains. Empty fields are reported as absent, not guessed.

Title
Author
Subject
Keywords
Creator application
Producer
Created
Modified
Page count
XMP packet

What a PDF records

A small dictionary of facts about the file itself.

Most PDFs carry an information dictionary written by the application that produced them. It travels with the file wherever it goes.

Author

Usually the account or profile name on the computer that exported the file. Often not the person you would expect.

Creator and producer

The application that authored the document and the tool that wrote the PDF, frequently with version numbers.

Created and modified

Timestamps set by the writer, in its own clock and time zone. Useful context, not a clock you can rely on.

Title, subject, keywords

Free text: often the draft's working title or a template's leftovers, which can differ from the file name you shared.

Read it honestly

What this viewer does and does not read.

A narrow reader that says exactly how narrow it is beats a broad one that guesses.

Where this fits

Part of showing how a document came to be.

A PDF's metadata is one of several sources of process evidence. Version history, drafts and source notes carry more; together they show the work behind a document.

Evidence of your own process

Questions

About PDF metadata.

Does the viewer keep my file?: No. The viewer reports the record the PDF carries and keeps nothing once you leave the page. No account is needed to use it.
Why are some fields missing?: Either the application that wrote the PDF left them empty, or they are stored inside a compressed object stream that this viewer does not open. Syft reports the second case as not readable rather than pretending the field is absent.
Can it read an encrypted PDF?: No. An encrypted PDF stores its metadata strings as ciphertext, so the fields are reported as not checked. The Syft workspace can inspect an unlocked copy.
Can I remove the metadata?: Not on this page: rewriting a PDF safely needs a writer, and a wrong rewrite corrupts the file. The Syft workspace produces a sanitised copy and re-inspects it to prove the removal.
Does PDF metadata show who wrote a document?: It shows what the writing application recorded, which is often the account name on the computer that exported the file and the tool that produced it. That is a clue about process, not proof of authorship, and it can be edited or absent.