Send a PDF to the wrong person with your home address in the metadata and you find out very quickly that metadata is not a theoretical concern. A freelancer I know sent a proposal to a client last year with GPS coordinates still embedded — the coordinates pointed to a residential address, not an office. The client noticed. It was awkward.
Viewing PDF metadata takes under a minute on any platform. The methods range from clicking two menus in Preview to running a single terminal command. This guide covers all of them — pick the one that fits how you work.
The fastest method: works on every platform
Before getting into platform-specific steps, the quickest way to inspect PDF metadata on any device — Mac, Windows, Linux, tablet, phone — is to use a browser-based inspector. No software to install, no account to create.
Open fileintel.me/pdf-metadata-remover
No installation, no sign-up. Works in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.
Drop your PDF onto the upload zone
Your file is processed entirely in your browser tab. It never reaches a server — zero upload, zero data exposure.
Read every field with a Privacy Risk Score
FileIntel shows 23+ metadata fields — including XMP data that most native OS viewers completely miss — with each field rated High, Medium, or Low risk.
Inspect any PDF right now
Works on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android. Zero install.
How to view PDF metadata on Mac
macOS has two built-in ways to see PDF metadata, and one excellent command-line option for when you need the full picture.
Method 1 — Preview (built-in, basic)
Open the PDF in Preview
Double-click any PDF file — Preview opens it by default on macOS.
Go to Tools → Show Inspector
Keyboard shortcut: ⌘I. A floating panel appears.
Click the Info tab (i icon)
You'll see Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, and the creation/modification dates. Basic but instant.
Preview only shows the DocInfo dictionary — the older of the two metadata storage formats in PDFs. It does not show XMP stream data, which can include GPS coordinates, extended author information, and custom enterprise fields. For a complete picture, use FileIntel or ExifTool.
Method 2 — ExifTool via Terminal (complete, all fields)
Install Homebrew (if not already)
Install ExifTool
Run ExifTool on your PDF
exiftool /path/to/your/document.pdf
Output shows every field including XMP, GPS, and custom enterprise metadata.
How to view PDF metadata on Windows
Windows gives you three options — a quick right-click method for basic fields, Adobe Reader for the standard view, and ExifTool if you need everything.
Method 1 — File Properties (built-in, very basic)
Right-click the PDF file in File Explorer
Select Properties from the context menu.
Click the Details tab
You'll see Title, Subject, Author, and some date fields. Windows reads a subset of the DocInfo dictionary — not all fields, and no XMP data.
Method 2 — Adobe Acrobat Reader (standard, most complete native option)
Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader
If you don't have it, download free at adobe.com/reader.
Go to File → Properties
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+D
Check the Description and Custom tabs
Description shows Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, and dates. The Custom tab reveals any non-standard fields the document creator added.
Method 3 — ExifTool on Windows (complete)
Download ExifTool for Windows
Get the Windows executable from exiftool.org — it's a single .exe file, no installation needed.
Open Command Prompt in the same folder
Shift+right-click the folder → "Open PowerShell window here"
Run ExifTool
How to view PDF metadata on Linux
Linux gives you the most options — and the cleanest command-line experience. ExifTool is available in most package managers. pdfinfo from the poppler-utils package is a lightweight alternative worth knowing.
Method 1 — pdfinfo (lightweight, fast)
Install poppler-utils
sudo apt install poppler-utils
# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install poppler-utils
# Arch
sudo pacman -S poppler
Run pdfinfo
Output includes Title, Author, Creator, Producer, dates, page count, dimensions, and encryption status.
Method 2 — ExifTool on Linux (complete, all fields)
Install ExifTool
sudo apt install libimage-exiftool-perl
# Fedora
sudo dnf install perl-Image-ExifTool
Read all metadata
exiftool document.pdf
# Specific field only
exiftool -Author document.pdf
# JSON output for scripting
exiftool -json document.pdf
All methods compared
Not all viewers show the same fields. Here is what each method actually surfaces — this matters if you are trying to confirm a document is clean before sharing it.
| Method | Platform | DocInfo fields | XMP stream | GPS data | Install needed | File stays local |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FileIntel | Any | ✓ All | ✓ Full | ✓ | No | ✓ Always |
| ExifTool | All | ✓ All | ✓ Full | ✓ | Yes | ✓ |
| Preview (Mac) | macOS | ~ Partial | ✗ No | ✗ | No | ✓ |
| Adobe Reader | Win/Mac | ✓ All | ~ Partial | ✗ | Yes | ✓ |
| Windows Properties | Windows | ~ Basic | ✗ No | ✗ | No | ✓ |
| pdfinfo | Linux | ✓ All | ✗ No | ✗ | Yes | ✓ |
The XMP stream is a separate XML blob embedded inside the PDF binary. Preview, Windows Properties, and pdfinfo do not read it at all. Adobe Reader reads parts of it. Only ExifTool and FileIntel read the complete XMP stream — which is where GPS coordinates, extended author information, and enterprise custom fields are typically stored.
If you are checking a document for sensitive data before sharing, a tool that misses XMP gives you false confidence.
What you will actually find
Here is a realistic example of what ExifTool or FileIntel might show on a PDF created in Microsoft Word and exported by a typical professional:
That output reveals the author's full name, their manager's name, the company, the exact software version, and GPS coordinates placing the document's creation in central London. Someone who receives this PDF can extract all of that in under a minute without opening a single page.
After viewing — what to do next
Viewing metadata is step one. Once you see what is embedded, you have two choices: accept it or remove it.
If you need to strip metadata before sharing — which is the right call for any document going to clients, courts, regulators, or public distribution — the same tool you used to inspect it can remove it. FileIntel's PDF Metadata Remover lets you strip individual fields or everything at once, with a Privacy Risk Score that updates in real time as you toggle fields off.
If you want to use ExifTool to strip metadata from the command line, the command is straightforward:
exiftool -all= document.pdf
# Strip metadata without keeping backup
exiftool -all= -overwrite_original document.pdf
After stripping with any tool, always re-inspect the output file. Some PDFs store metadata in non-standard locations that basic strippers miss. Running ExifTool or FileIntel on the cleaned file and confirming all high-risk fields show empty is the only way to be certain.
Try it now — any platform
Inspect and strip PDF metadata in your browser. No install, no upload.