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An Excel workbook remembers who made it and where it lived. Besides the Author and Last modified by names, Excel can store the full folder path the file was last saved from, such as C:\Users\jalvarez\Documents\Clients\, and workbooks that link to other files keep those paths too. An XLSX metadata remover deletes the personal properties and the saved-from path and leaves every sheet, formula and chart exactly as it was. Drop a .xlsx file in the box above to see what it holds.
What an Excel workbook remembers
| Where | What is stored | Example |
|---|---|---|
| File properties | Author, Last modified by, Title, Subject, Keywords, Comments, Category, dates | Author “J. Alvarez”, modified last night |
| Extended properties | Company, Manager, Application and version | Company “Northwind Ltd”, “Microsoft Excel 16.0300” |
| Saved-from path | The folder the workbook was last saved from | C:\Users\jalvarez\Documents\Clients\Northwind\ |
| Custom properties | Fields a company or a document system adds | ClientId = 4471 |
| Thumbnail | A picture of the first sheet | A readable preview of the first sheet |
| Links to other files | The paths of workbooks this one pulls data from | \\fileserver\finance\budget-2025.xlsx |
| Embedded photos | Pictures keep their own EXIF block | A phone photo of a receipt with the location of the shop |
Where the details come from
- Your Office account supplies the author and company.
- Excel itself records the saved-from folder in the workbook part.
- Linked workbooks store the full path of each source file.
- Copied sheets bring the details of the workbook they came from.
What the remover deletes, and what it keeps
| Removed | Kept |
|---|---|
| Author, Last modified by, Title, Subject, Keywords, Comments | All sheets, cells, formulas and formatting |
| Company, Manager, Application name and version | Charts, pivot tables and conditional formats |
| Created and Modified dates, and the save time of every part | Pictures (without their metadata) |
| Saved-from folder path | Defined names and data validation |
| Custom properties | Cell comments (reported, not deleted) |
| Preview thumbnail | Links to other workbooks (reported, not deleted) |
| EXIF, GPS and camera data in embedded pictures |
How to remove metadata from an Excel workbook
- Drop your Excel workbooks in the box at the top of the page, or choose them from your device. You can add many files at once.
- Press the clean button. Each file shows what was found and removed.
- Read the report. Anything that could still identify someone is listed as remaining, so nothing is hidden from you.
- Download the clean copy. One file downloads as it is; several come as one ZIP.
Is it safe to clean an Excel workbook online?
Yes. Excel workbooks are cleaned entirely in your browser: the file is read, rewritten and handed back as a download without leaving your device. You can confirm it by opening the network tab of your browser while you clean a file, where no upload appears. If you use the API or the MCP server, the file is processed on our server, held only for the length of the request, and deleted within minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Can Excel really store my folder path?
Yes. Excel can record the full path of the folder the workbook was last saved from. This tool removes that record.
Will my formulas still work?
Yes. Cells, formulas and charts are not touched.
Does it remove names from cell comments?
Comments are content, so they are listed as remaining instead of deleted. Delete them in Excel and clean the file again if needed.
Does it work on .xls and .csv?
Yes for .xls, with the DOC, XLS & PPT remover. A CSV file has no metadata to clean.
Can I clean Excel workbooks with the API?
Yes. Send the file to POST /api/v1/clean/document with your API key and its name in the X-Filename header. It returns the clean file and reports what was removed in the response headers. The MCP server does the same for AI assistants.
How many files can I clean?
Guests and free accounts have a daily allowance and a file-size limit, shown above the drop box. Paid plans raise both. Documents, images, PDFs and audio share one daily allowance.