Word Metadata Remover
- Free
- No upload
- No watermark
Quick answer
To remove metadata from a Word document, rewrite the .docx without its document properties — Author, Last saved by, Company, Manager, Title, Subject, Keywords and Comments, the created, modified and printed dates, the save count and total editing time — and without the template path, editing-session IDs, custom properties and the names on comments and tracked changes. This tool does that in your browser. The text, formatting and images stay as they were, photos inside the document lose their GPS and camera data, and the file is never uploaded.
Step by step
How to word metadata remover
- 01
Drop the Word file
Drop one .docx or several. Each is opened in your browser and its hidden data is listed: author, last saved by, company, dates, editing time, template path, comment authors and any location or camera data in photos inside it. Password-protected files and old .doc files are refused; remove the password or save as .docx first.
- 02
Remove the metadata
Everything mode is preselected. Start the removal and the document is rewritten without its properties, with names on comments and tracked changes replaced by “Author”. The text and layout are not touched.
- 03
Check and download
The cleaned file is inspected again, so you can see what is left. Download it, or the whole batch as a ZIP, and open it in Word as usual.
In depth
What hidden data does a Word document carry?
A .docx is a ZIP folder of XML files, and several of them describe you rather than your text. Document properties record the Author, who last saved it, the Company and Manager from your Office installation, and the created, modified and printed dates. App properties add the total editing time in minutes and the template. Word stamps editing-session IDs (rsids) on paragraphs as you work, and comments and tracked changes keep each reviewer’s name, initials and timestamp — newer versions of Word also store their account ID, often an e-mail address.
| Field | Example | Why it leaks |
|---|---|---|
| Author / Last saved by | "Sarah K", "j.smith" | Taken from the Office account that created or last saved the file — not always who you think, once a document has passed through several hands |
| Company / Manager | "Acme Recruiting Ltd" | Filled in from the organisation Office was set up for, so a CV can name your current employer |
| Dates and editing time | Created 3 Feb 2023, total editing time 14 h 32 min | Shows when a document was really started and how long it took — awkward on a “fresh” proposal |
| Template path | C:\Users\jsmith\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\Proposal.dotm | A full folder path, with your Windows user name in it |
| Comment and revision names | "Dana (Legal)", initials "DL", account dana@firm.com | Reviewer identities outlive the review, even after the comments are resolved |
| Editing-session IDs | w:rsidR="00A3F2C1" on every paragraph | Random IDs per editing session: two documents sharing them were edited on the same machine |
| Photos inside | A phone photo pasted into a report | Embedded images keep their own EXIF — GPS position, phone model and the moment it was taken |
Does cleaning change my document?
No. Only the parts that describe the file are rewritten: the document properties are emptied, the template link and editing-session IDs are dropped, and names on comments and tracked changes become “Author”. Text, styles, tables, headers, footnotes, images and the comments themselves are carried over unchanged, and embedded photos are cleaned without being re-compressed. Word opens the result like any other document — and writes your name back the next time you save it, so clean the final version, after your last edit.
What it does not remove
- Comments and tracked changes themselves. Their names go, but the text of each comment and every unaccepted change stays. Delete comments and accept or reject changes in Word before you send.
- Hidden content. White or hidden text and anything else in the body is content, not metadata. Word’s Inspect Document finds it.
- Old .doc files and password-protected files. Save a .doc as .docx, and remove a password in Word, before you drop it here.
- Excel and PowerPoint files. This page handles Word. For a PDF, use the PDF metadata remover.
Is my document uploaded?
No. Contracts, CVs and HR letters should not pass through someone else’s server, so the file is opened, rewritten and checked entirely in your browser. Open DevTools → Network while you clean one: no request carries the document.
Related tools
Want to look before you change anything? The metadata viewer lists every property and comment author. Exporting to PDF? Word copies the Author and Title into it, so clean that too with the PDF metadata remover. And to check whether a document reads as AI-written, try the AI text detector.
Your files never leave your device
Processed locally in your browser — nothing is uploaded. You can verify it yourself: open your browser’s developer tools, watch the Network tab, and use the tool — no upload request is ever made.
- No file is ever uploaded to a server
- Works offline after the first visit
- No account, no watermark, no limits
A little more clarity
Frequently asked questions
01How do I remove the author name from a Word document?
Drop the .docx here and start the removal: Author and Last saved by are cleared with the rest of the properties, and names on comments and tracked changes become “Author”. Word’s own Inspect Document (File → Info → Check for Issues) does a similar job one file at a time; this works in any browser and on a batch.
02Will removing metadata change the text or formatting?
No. Only the files inside the .docx that describe the document are rewritten. Text, styles, tables, headers and footers, footnotes, images and comments are copied across unchanged, so the document looks and prints exactly the same.
03Does it delete comments and tracked changes?
No. It removes the names, initials, dates and account IDs attached to them, which become “Author”, but the comments and changes stay in the document. Delete comments and accept or reject changes in Word if the content should not be seen either.
04Why does my name come back after I edit the cleaned file?
Word fills in Author and Last saved by from your Office account every time it saves. Clean the document after your final edit, just before you send it, and send the cleaned copy without opening and saving it again.
05Are photos inside the document cleaned too?
Yes. Photos pasted into Word keep their own EXIF data: GPS position, phone model and the date taken. Every JPEG, PNG, WebP and GIF inside the document goes through the same lossless cleaner as a photo dropped on its own, without re-compression.
06What are rsids, and why remove them?
Revision save IDs: random eight-digit numbers Word adds to paragraphs for each editing session, to help when comparing and merging documents. Documents edited on the same computer share them, which can link an unsigned file to its author. Removing them changes nothing you can see.
07Can I clean a password-protected or .doc file?
No. A password-protected .docx is encrypted and a .doc uses Word’s old binary format, so both are refused with a clear message. Remove the password in Word, or save the .doc as .docx, then drop the new copy here.
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