The charter
1. Your file never leaves your device
This is the only rule that matters. Every byte of every file you drop into removemetadata.tools is processed inside your browser using JavaScript and pdf-lib / JSZip libraries. The file is never transmitted to our servers — because there are no servers in the processing path. If we ever change this, we will say so loudly and on this page.
2. We do not store metadata about you
We use Google Analytics with IP anonymization to understand which pages people visit and how to improve the site. We do not log which files you cleaned, what fields you stripped, or anything about the content of your files. We could not log it even if we wanted to — the files never reach us.
3. We are honest about what we cannot do
Metadata removal is a privacy layer. It is not invisibility. A file can still be identified through visible watermarks, perceptual hashes, the IP address used to send it, the platform it is uploaded to, or by people who simply read the content. We tell you this on the how-it-works page because we want you to make informed decisions, not to feel safer than you are.
4. The free tool stays free
The core web tool — every format, every preset, every field — is free and will stay free. We support the project through advertising. The web tool itself does not change based on this revenue.
5. We will not be acquired by an adtech company
If we ever sell the project, the values above transfer with it, or we shut it down. We will not sell our user base to a company that monetizes by violating the principle the tool was built on.
Who is behind this
removemetadata.tools is built by a small team of engineers who got tired of seeing journalists, activists, and ordinary people get exposed because of metadata they didn't know existed. We have backgrounds in privacy engineering, digital forensics, and document processing. We're contactable and accountable. If you have questions about how the tool works or what we do with data, write to us via the contact page.
Why this name
removemetadata.tools does exactly what it says. We picked a literal domain because we care about being findable by the people who need this — not about being clever. The network of related tools you'll find on the Free Tools page follows the same philosophy: clear names, clear purpose, no surprises.