Remove Metadata from Word
See and remove what a Word document reveals: authors, company, comments, tracked changes, hidden text, file paths and photo locations. Nothing leaves your device.
Drop Word documents here
See everything a .docx file reveals about you and your organisation, then save a clean copy.
.docx, .docm, .dotx · Up to 20 files at once
100% in your browser
What metadata does a Word document contain?
Every .docx file stores information beyond its text. It names the author and the last person who saved it, the company and template, how many times it was saved and for how many minutes it was edited. Comments and tracked changes record reviewers' names and dates, and deleted text stays in the file until changes are accepted. Less visibly, Word keeps the path to the template on your computer (often including your user name), revision IDs that link documents, hidden text, custom properties from SharePoint or sensitivity labels, and the camera and GPS details of inserted photos.
How to remove metadata from a Word document
- Choose Open File and select one or more .docx files, or try the sample document. Nothing is uploaded.
- Read the findings: names, comments, tracked changes, hidden text and file paths are flagged as high risk.
- Choose how to handle document properties, comments and tracked changes, then tick what else to remove.
- Choose Remove metadata and download. For several files, choose Clean all as ZIP.
- Check the before-and-after summary, then open the clean copy in Word to review it.
Hidden information in a Word file, and what happens to it
| Hidden information | Example | Default action |
|---|---|---|
| Author and last modified by | Jordan Avery, Sam Rivera | Removed |
| Company, manager, template | Northwind Consulting, Proposal.dotm | Removed |
| Dates, revision number, editing time | Saved 14 times, 412 minutes of editing | Removed |
| Comments | Reviewer names, initials and dates | Names and dates removed; or remove all |
| Tracked changes | Deleted text and who deleted it | Names and dates removed; or accept all |
| Hidden text | Text formatted as hidden | Removed |
| Template and data-source paths | C:\Users\jordan.avery\…\Normal.dotm | Removed |
| Revision save IDs (rsid) | IDs that link documents edited in the same session | Removed |
| Custom properties and custom XML | SharePoint fields, sensitivity labels, client codes | Removed |
| Photo metadata | Camera model, GPS coordinates in inserted JPEG and PNG images | Removed |
Why clean Word documents here
- No Word required
- Works in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android and Chromebook.
- Finds what the Inspector misses
- Photo GPS, revision IDs, template paths and reviewer lists are found and removed too.
- Your file stays on your device
- Documents are processed locally, with no upload, account or retention.
- Batch cleaning
- Open up to 20 documents and download them all as one ZIP file.
- Choose what to keep
- Keep comments or tracked changes and remove only the names, or remove them entirely.
- Checked result
- The cleaned file is analysed again, with a before-and-after summary.
When to remove metadata from Word documents
- Sending contracts and proposals
- Remove internal comments, negotiation history and the names of everyone who edited the draft.
- Job applications and CVs
- Remove the template path, previous employer's company name and editing history from your CV.
- Legal disclosure and court filings
- Remove privileged comments, tracked changes and author details before documents leave your firm.
- Blind review and anonymous submissions
- Journals, grant panels and competitions often require documents with no author information.
- Publishing templates and policies
- Accept all changes and remove reviewer names before a document goes public.
- Reports with photos
- Remove GPS coordinates from site photos pasted into inspection and property reports.
How this compares with other ways to remove Word metadata
Based on each product's own documentation and pages, reviewed in October 2026.
| Option | Where it runs | Coverage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital ToolPad | In your browser | Properties, comments, changes, hidden text, paths, rsids, custom XML, photo EXIF/GPS | Free, batch, any device |
| Word Document Inspector | Word for Windows/Mac | Comments, revisions, properties, headers/footers, hidden text, custom XML, invisible content | One file at a time; can't be undone |
| Windows file Properties › Remove properties | Windows Explorer | Basic document properties | No comments, changes or hidden data |
| Metadata Remover by 4n6 | Windows app | Office, PDF, image and media metadata | Installed desktop software |
| Filestar | Windows app | Removes docx metadata in batches | Installed desktop software |
| Metadact (Litera) | Enterprise software | Firm-wide metadata cleaning | Commercial licence |
How the cleaning works
A .docx file is a ZIP package of XML parts. The tool opens it in your browser and rewrites the properties parts, removes the custom properties, custom XML, reviewers list and thumbnail, and edits the document, headers, footers, footnotes, comments, styles and settings to remove names, dates, revision IDs, template links and hidden text.
Accepting changes removes deleted text and change records and unwraps insertions. Inserted photos are cleaned byte by byte to remove EXIF, XMP and text chunks without re-encoding. The package is saved with neutral timestamps and checked again before you download it.
Sharing the document as a PDF?
A PDF exported from Word inherits the title and author, and adds its own metadata. Clean it with the PDF metadata remover, and permanently black out names or numbers on the pages with Redact PDF. To create Word files from Markdown, use Markdown to DOCX.
Example: a proposal with a lot to hide
Open the sample document. It names its author and editor, the company and manager, a template path containing a Windows user name, a lawyer's comment, a tracked change that deleted a 35% discount, a hidden note with the walk-away price, and a photo with GPS coordinates. With the default settings, the clean copy keeps the text and layout but none of those details.
What to expect from the result
Only Word's modern .docx, .docm, .dotx and .dotm formats are supported; save old .doc files as .docx first. Password-protected documents must be unlocked in Word. Macros and embedded objects, such as an inserted Excel sheet, are kept unchanged and may carry their own metadata. Names typed in the text, headers or footers are content, not metadata, so they stay. Accepting changes keeps paragraph breaks around deleted paragraphs, so check the layout afterwards.
Remove Metadata from Word questions
How do I remove metadata from a Word document?
Open the .docx file here, review what it reveals and choose Remove metadata and download. By default the author, company, template, dates, custom properties, revision IDs, hidden text, template paths and photo GPS are removed. Comments and tracked changes are kept with names and dates removed. It works without Word, on any device.
How do I remove the author name from a Word document?
The author appears in several places: document properties (Author and Last modified by), comments, tracked changes and the reviewers list. Keeping the default options removes it from all of them, and replaces reviewer names on comments and changes with “Reviewer” and “Author”.
How is this different from Word's Document Inspector?
Document Inspector is built into Word for Windows and Mac. This tool works in any browser, including on phones and Chromebooks, and cleans many files at once. It also removes things the Inspector leaves: camera and GPS data inside inserted photos, revision save IDs that link documents, and template paths that show your Windows user name. It shows each finding before you remove it.
Will removing metadata change my document's content or layout?
No. Text, formatting, images, tables and headers stay the same. Only properties, names, IDs and paths are removed, unless you choose to remove comments, accept tracked changes or remove hidden text. Embedded objects and macros are kept as they are.
Is my document uploaded anywhere?
No. The .docx file is opened and rewritten by your browser on your own device. Nothing is sent to a server, and there is no account or file retention. That makes it safe for contracts, CVs, legal drafts and HR files.