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A Word, Excel or PowerPoint file carries more than the words and numbers you typed. It stores the name of the person who created it, the name of the last person who saved it, the company from the Office licence, the dates of every save, how many minutes it was edited, a small picture of the first page and, in Excel, sometimes the folder on your computer where it was saved. A document metadata remover deletes those records and leaves the content untouched. Drop a file in the box above to see what it holds and download a clean copy. The document is processed in your browser and never uploaded.
What a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file remembers
| Where | What is stored | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Core properties | Author, last modified by, title, subject, keywords, comments, category, created and modified dates, revision number | Author “J. Alvarez”, last modified by “Sam”, created three years ago |
| Application properties | Company, manager, application name and version, template, total editing time | Company “Northwind Ltd”, “Microsoft Office Word 16.0”, 214 minutes of editing |
| Custom properties | Fields a company or a document system adds, such as a client code or a classification | ClientId = 4471, Classification = Confidential |
| Preview thumbnail | A small picture of the first page or slide, saved inside the file | A readable picture of page one, even if you later deleted the text |
| Saved-from path (Excel) | The full folder the workbook was last saved from | C:\Users\jalvarez\Documents\Clients\Northwind\ |
| Editing session IDs (Word) | Random-looking rsid codes stamped on paragraphs for each editing session | Codes that tie passages of text to the session that wrote them |
| Reviewer names (Word) | A list of people who commented or made tracked changes | A people list with every reviewer’s name |
| Embedded photos | Photos pasted into the file keep their own EXIF block, with the camera and, often, the GPS position | A phone photo of a whiteboard that carries the address of the meeting room |
Where the author name comes from
People are often surprised to find their name in a file they never typed it into. The fields are filled in automatically from the user profile of the software that saved the file.
- Microsoft Office copies the user name and company from the installation or the Microsoft 365 account into Author, Last modified by and Company.
- Google Docs and Sheets exports can carry the account name when the file is downloaded as DOCX or XLSX.
- LibreOffice writes the user name set under Tools, Options, User Data, and its own version number as the generator.
- Templates pass the original author and the template path to every document made from them.
- Copying a file keeps all of it. A contract drafted from last year’s contract still names the person who wrote last year’s contract.
What the remover deletes, and what it keeps
The cleaner opens the file as the ZIP package it is, rewrites only the property parts and the preview, and packs it again. Your text, tables, formulas, formatting, slides and pictures are not changed.
| Removed | Kept |
|---|---|
| Author, last modified by, title, subject, keywords, comments in the properties | All text, tables, formulas and formatting |
| Company, manager, application name and version, template, editing time | Page, word and slide counts that Office recalculates anyway |
| Created, modified and last-printed dates, and the save time of every part inside the ZIP | Fonts, styles, charts, images and layout |
| Custom properties | Hyperlinks and cell references |
| Preview thumbnail | Tracked changes, comments and speaker notes (reported, see below) |
| Saved-from folder path in Excel | Embedded pictures (with their photo metadata removed) |
| Word editing-session IDs and the reviewer list | Document security settings |
| EXIF, GPS and camera data inside embedded JPEG, PNG and WebP pictures | The pixels of every picture |
How to remove metadata from a document
- Drop a DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODT, ODS or ODP file in the box at the top of the page, or choose it from your device. You can add many files at once.
- Press the clean button. Each file shows what was found, such as Author, Company, Preview thumbnail or Photo metadata in embedded pictures.
- Check the report. Anything that could still identify someone, such as comments or tracked changes, is listed as remaining.
- Download the clean copy. A single file downloads as it is; several files come as one ZIP.
Using Office’s own tool, and why it is not enough
Word, Excel and PowerPoint have a Document Inspector (File, Info, Check for Issues, Inspect Document) that clears document properties and personal information. It is a good first step, with limits. It is a manual dialog for each file, it is not available in every edition and on every platform, it does not remove the metadata inside embedded photos, and saving the file again can write your name back. This tool works the same way on every file, on any device, and checks the result.
- In Word, File, Options, Trust Center, Trust Center Settings, Privacy Options has a setting to remove personal information from file properties on save. Turn it on if you send many documents.
- In Excel, check File, Info for the Author and Related People lists before sending.
- In PowerPoint, File, Info, Check for Issues also finds off-slide content and speaker notes.
Supported formats
| Format | Programs | Handled |
|---|---|---|
| .docx | Microsoft Word, Google Docs export, LibreOffice Writer | Properties, thumbnail, rsid codes, reviewer list, embedded photos |
| .xlsx | Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets export, LibreOffice Calc | Properties, thumbnail, saved-from path, embedded photos |
| .pptx | Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides export, LibreOffice Impress | Properties, thumbnail, embedded photos |
| .odt .ods .odp | LibreOffice and OpenOffice | Properties, template path, custom fields, thumbnail, embedded photos |
Is it safe to clean documents online?
Documents are often private by nature: contracts, invoices, reports, drafts. For that reason this tool cleans DOCX, XLSX, PPTX and OpenDocument files entirely in your browser. The file is read, rewritten and handed back as a download without leaving your device. You can check this by opening your browser’s network tab while you clean a file: no upload happens. If you use the API or the MCP server, the file is processed on our server, held for the length of the request, and deleted within minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Will the document look different after cleaning?
No. The text, formatting, tables, formulas, charts and pictures are not changed. Only the property parts, the preview and the metadata inside embedded photos are rewritten.
Does it remove the author name from a Word document?
Yes. The Author, Last modified by, Company, Manager and Title fields are deleted from the file properties. Names inside comments and tracked changes are reported, because those are part of the content.
Can it remove the folder path from an Excel file?
Yes. Excel can store the folder a workbook was last saved from. The cleaner removes that record.
Does it remove GPS from photos inside the document?
Yes. JPEG, PNG and WebP pictures stored in the file lose their EXIF, GPS and camera data. The picture itself is unchanged.
Is the file uploaded?
No. DOCX, XLSX, PPTX and OpenDocument files are cleaned in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.
Why does the report say something remains?
Comments, tracked changes and speaker notes can carry names, but they are also content, so the tool lists them instead of deleting them. Resolve them in your editor and clean the file again.
What about .doc, .xls and .ppt files?
These older binary formats are not supported. Open them in Word, Excel or PowerPoint and save them as DOCX, XLSX or PPTX, then clean the new file.
Can I clean documents with the API?
Yes. Send the file to POST /api/v1/clean/document with your API key. It returns the clean file and reports what was removed in the response headers.
Does my name come back when I open and save the file again?
It can. Office writes your name into the properties each time you save. Clean the file as the last step before sending it, or turn on the privacy option that removes personal information on save.