What this removes
- Author, last modified by, company, manager, title, subject, keywords and dates
- Editing time, revision count, custom properties and the preview picture
- Names and dates on comments and tracked changes
- The template path, revision identifiers and printer settings
- Location and camera details in every picture inside the document
What it points out but leaves
Comments, tracked changes, hidden sheets, speaker notes, hidden slides and links to other files. These are content. Find hidden content shows them in detail.
A worked example
A CV written on a work laptop lists the employer as “Company” and a colleague, who shared the template, as author. Cleaned, the CV has no author and no company, and opens in Word without a warning.
Questions
- What does this remove from a Word file?
- The author and "last modified by" fields, company, manager, title and other properties, total editing time, custom properties, the preview picture, the list of people, the template path, document variables and revision identifiers. Names on comments and tracked changes become "Author" and their dates are removed.
- Does it delete my comments and tracked changes?
- No. They are part of your document, so they are left in place with the names removed, and the tool tells you they are there. Accept or reject changes in Word first if you want the old wording gone.
- Will the file still open normally?
- Yes. Parts are removed together with every reference to them, so Office does not offer to repair the file.
- Does it work for Excel and PowerPoint?
- Yes. For Excel it also removes printer settings and the saved folder path, and points out hidden sheets and links to other workbooks. For PowerPoint it removes revision tracking and points out speaker notes and hidden slides.
Your file stays on this device
The tool above runs in a sealed frame that cannot send your file anywhere. It works with airplane mode on, and the counter above it stays at 0. Here is how you can check that yourself.
Related tools
- Find hidden content Check a PDF or Office file for hidden text, sheets, comments and tracked changes.
- Remove metadata from a PDF Remove the author, software, dates and earlier versions from a PDF.
- Remove metadata Strip location, device and hidden previews from photos and documents.
- Remove EXIF data Take the camera, date and location data out of a photo without changing the picture.
- Remove location from a photo Take the GPS position out of a photo and keep everything else.
- Remove GPS from a video Take location, device and dates out of a phone or action-camera video without re-encoding it.
- View EXIF data See the location, camera and dates stored in a photo before you share it.
- Redact PDF Black out names, emails and numbers so they are gone for good.
- Redact image Cover parts of a screenshot or photo with solid boxes.