Do journal submission systems check for author metadata in PDF files?

Many do — or their guidelines explicitly require authors to remove it. Submission platforms like ScholarOne and Editorial Manager sometimes flag or reject PDFs with author metadata present. Even when not automatically checked, reviewers with PDF property access can identify authors, compromising double-blind integrity.

Does LaTeX-compiled PDF output contain identifying metadata?

Yes. PDFLaTeX and XeLaTeX embed the system username and TeX distribution details in standard metadata fields by default. The compiled PDF will typically show the author's Unix username in the Creator or Author field unless explicitly suppressed in the LaTeX source.

Will removing metadata affect my PDF's figures, citations, or formatting?

No. Only the hidden document property fields are cleared. All visible content — text, figures, tables, citations, hyperlinks — is preserved exactly as exported.

What if my manuscript has co-authors — will all their names be removed?

The tool removes the Author metadata field entirely, which may contain one or multiple names depending on how the PDF was generated. All standard metadata fields are cleared in a single pass regardless of how many names they contain.

Remove Author Metadata from PDF Manuscripts Before Double-Blind Peer Review Submission

Double-blind peer review requires that reviewers cannot identify the authors — but most researchers export manuscripts to PDF without realizing the file properties still contain their name, institution, and the software they used. A single glance at PDF document properties by a reviewer breaks anonymity, potentially biasing review outcomes. Deliteful's Remove PDF Metadata tool strips these fields before submission.

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Journal submission guidelines increasingly specify that authors must remove identifying metadata from PDF files, not just from the visible manuscript text. Nature, Elsevier, and most IEEE conference submission systems explicitly flag this requirement. Yet the most common PDF export workflows — Word to PDF, LaTeX compiled output, Google Docs export — all embed the user's account name and software identity by default. Researchers who carefully anonymize their manuscript text routinely submit PDFs with their full name sitting in the Author field.

Deliteful clears the standard metadata fields — author, title, subject, keywords, creator, producer — and returns a cleaned PDF with all content, formatting, citations, and figures intact. The process takes under a minute and costs 1 credit per file. Free accounts include 20 credits per month, which is sufficient for standard submission workflows.

How it works

1
Sign up free with Google
Create your Deliteful account in about 3 clicks — no credit card required.
2
Export your manuscript to PDF
Generate the final PDF from Word, LaTeX, or your preferred tool as you normally would.
3
Upload and strip metadata
Upload the PDF to Deliteful; the tool clears author and other standard metadata fields automatically.
4
Submit the cleaned PDF
Download the metadata-free PDF and use it as your journal or conference submission file.

Frequently asked questions

Do journal submission systems check for author metadata in PDF files?: Many do — or their guidelines explicitly require authors to remove it. Submission platforms like ScholarOne and Editorial Manager sometimes flag or reject PDFs with author metadata present. Even when not automatically checked, reviewers with PDF property access can identify authors, compromising double-blind integrity.
Does LaTeX-compiled PDF output contain identifying metadata?: Yes. PDFLaTeX and XeLaTeX embed the system username and TeX distribution details in standard metadata fields by default. The compiled PDF will typically show the author's Unix username in the Creator or Author field unless explicitly suppressed in the LaTeX source.
Will removing metadata affect my PDF's figures, citations, or formatting?: No. Only the hidden document property fields are cleared. All visible content — text, figures, tables, citations, hyperlinks — is preserved exactly as exported.
What if my manuscript has co-authors — will all their names be removed?: The tool removes the Author metadata field entirely, which may contain one or multiple names depending on how the PDF was generated. All standard metadata fields are cleared in a single pass regardless of how many names they contain.

Create your free Deliteful account with Google and submit genuinely anonymous PDFs to your next double-blind journal or conference.