PDF Clean (PDF清理工具)

Remove metadata, annotations, bookmarks, and form fields from PDF files

Clean PDF files by removing sensitive or unnecessary information.

Cleaning Options:

  • Metadata: Remove document title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, and dates
  • Annotations: Remove all comments, highlights, and other annotations from pages
  • Bookmarks: Remove document outline/bookmarks and named destinations
  • Form Fields: Remove interactive form fields and AcroForm data

Privacy & Security:
This tool helps sanitize PDFs by removing potentially sensitive metadata and tracking information. Perfect for document distribution when you want to remove author information, comments, or form data.

What gets cleaned:

  • Document metadata (author, title, creation dates)
  • XML metadata (XMP)
  • Page annotations (comments, highlights, stamps)
  • Document bookmarks/outline
  • Form fields and AcroForm structure

Example Results

2 examples

Clean PDF Metadata and Annotations

Remove document metadata and all page annotations from PDF

pdf-clean-example1.pdf View File
View input parameters
{ "sourceFile": "/public/samples/pdf/sample.pdf", "removeMetadata": true, "removeAnnotations": true, "removeBookmarks": false, "removeFormFields": false }

Full PDF Sanitization

Remove all sensitive data: metadata, annotations, bookmarks, and forms

pdf-clean-example2.pdf View File
View input parameters
{ "sourceFile": "/public/samples/pdf/sample.pdf", "removeMetadata": true, "removeAnnotations": true, "removeBookmarks": true, "removeFormFields": true }

Click to upload file or drag and drop file here

Maximum file size: 500MB Supported formats: application/pdf

Remove title, author, creation dates, and other document properties

Remove comments, highlights, and other page annotations

Remove document outline, bookmarks, and named destinations

Remove interactive form fields and AcroForm structure

Key Facts

Category
Documents & PDF
Input Types
file, checkbox
Output Type
file
Sample Coverage
4
API Ready
Yes

Overview

The PDF Clean tool allows you to sanitize your PDF documents by removing sensitive metadata, personal annotations, bookmarks, and interactive form fields before sharing them.

When to Use

  • •When preparing a legal or business document for public distribution and you need to strip out author names, creation dates, and other hidden metadata.
  • •When sharing a reviewed PDF draft but wanting to remove all internal comments, highlights, and annotations.
  • •When flattening interactive PDF forms to prevent further editing of form fields and AcroForm data.

How It Works

  • •Upload the PDF document you want to sanitize.
  • •Select the elements you want to remove, such as metadata, annotations, bookmarks, or form fields.
  • •Process the file to strip the selected data and download your cleaned, privacy-safe PDF.

Use Cases

Sanitizing legal contracts to remove draft comments and author metadata before final signing.
Cleaning educational materials by removing personal highlights and bookmarks before sharing with students.
Preparing public reports by stripping out internal metadata and interactive form structures.

Examples

1. Sanitizing a Legal Contract for Public Release

Legal Assistant
Background
A legal assistant needs to publish a finalized contract, but the draft contains internal comments and author metadata.
Problem
The PDF contains sensitive author information and internal review comments that must not be visible to the public.
How to Use
Upload the contract PDF, check the boxes for 'Remove Metadata' and 'Remove Annotations', and run the tool.
Example Config
{
  "removeMetadata": true,
  "removeAnnotations": true,
  "removeBookmarks": false,
  "removeFormFields": false
}
Outcome
A clean PDF document with all internal comments and author metadata permanently removed.

2. Flattening and Cleaning a PDF Form

HR Specialist
Background
An HR specialist wants to archive completed employee onboarding forms without keeping the interactive form fields active.
Problem
The PDF forms remain interactive, allowing accidental edits to the submitted data.
How to Use
Upload the completed PDF form, check 'Remove Form Fields' and 'Remove Metadata', and process the file.
Example Config
{
  "removeMetadata": true,
  "removeAnnotations": false,
  "removeBookmarks": false,
  "removeFormFields": true
}
Outcome
A sanitized PDF with inactive form fields, securing the entered data from further modification.

Try with Samples

pdf, video, barcode
PDF Samples
Generated PDF samples from tools dated 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-10
title token pdf
pdf
Markdown Slide Deck Samples
Remark/Marp style Markdown slide decks for testing PDF export layouts
preferred input family pdf
pdf
ICS Calendar Samples
Sample iCalendar (.ics) files for testing calendar import, event parsing, reminders, and recurring schedules
matched family video
video
Text with Emoji Samples
Mixed language text containing various Unicode emojis for testing emoji extraction
matched family video
video

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FAQ

What metadata is removed when I select 'Remove Metadata'?

It strips the document title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, creation/modification dates, and XML metadata (XMP).

Does removing annotations delete my highlights and comments?

Yes, it removes all user-added comments, text highlights, stamps, and other page annotations.

What happens to interactive form fields when cleaned?

The interactive form fields and AcroForm structure are removed, preventing users from filling out or modifying form data.

Will removing bookmarks affect the actual pages of my PDF?

No, it only removes the document outline, bookmarks, and named destinations, leaving the page content intact.

Is my original PDF file modified?

No, the tool processes a copy of your file and provides a new, cleaned PDF for download.

API Documentation

Request Endpoint

POST /en/api/tools/pdf-clean

Request Parameters

Parameter Name Type Required Description
sourceFile file (Upload required) Yes -
removeMetadata checkbox No Remove title, author, creation dates, and other document properties
removeAnnotations checkbox No Remove comments, highlights, and other page annotations
removeBookmarks checkbox No Remove document outline, bookmarks, and named destinations
removeFormFields checkbox No Remove interactive form fields and AcroForm structure

File type parameters need to be uploaded first via POST /upload/pdf-clean to get filePath, then pass filePath to the corresponding file field.

Response Format

{
  "filePath": "/public/processing/randomid.ext",
  "fileName": "output.ext",
  "contentType": "application/octet-stream",
  "size": 1024,
  "metadata": {
    "key": "value"
  },
  "error": "Error message (optional)",
  "message": "Notification message (optional)"
}
File: File

AI MCP Documentation

Add this tool to your MCP server configuration: 

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "elysiatools-pdf-clean": {
      "name": "pdf-clean",
      "description": "Remove metadata, annotations, bookmarks, and form fields from PDF files",
      "baseUrl": "https://elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=pdf-clean",
      "command": "",
      "args": [],
      "env": {},
      "isActive": true,
      "type": "sse"
    }
  }
}

You can chain multiple tools, e.g.: `https://elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=png-to-webp,jpg-to-webp,gif-to-webp`, max 20 tools.

Supports URL file links or Base64 encoding for file parameters.

If you encounter any issues, please contact us at [email protected]