Remove metadata from Word (2025): clean DOCX safely

Clean Word metadata (author, company, timestamps, XMP, custom properties) and purge hidden content such as comments and revision history. Includes Document Inspector, PowerShell automation, and ExifTool second-pass checks.

WindowsmacOSOffice 3652025

🔒 Remove image metadata in your browser — MetaRemover.com Microsoft: Document Inspector →

Privacy Risk

Author, company, timestamps

Leak potentialMedium–High

Lossless

Content unchanged

Document content impactNone

Automation

CLI & scripts

Batch readinessExcellent

Audit what’s inside a DOCX

A DOCX is a ZIP archive. Core properties live in docProps/core.xml, app data in docProps/app.xml, and custom properties in docProps/custom.xml. Comments and revisions live in the document parts.

# Peek into a copy (do not modify originals)
cp "doc.docx" "copy.docx" && unzip -l "copy.docx" | sed -n '1,40p'

# Extract properties for inspection
unzip -p "copy.docx" docProps/core.xml   | xmllint --format -
unzip -p "copy.docx" docProps/custom.xml | xmllint --format -

Remove via Document Inspector (GUI)

File → Info → Check for Issues → Inspect Document

Remove All selected categories

Open the DOCX → File → Info → Check for Issues → Inspect Document.
Select: Document Properties and Personal Information, Comments, Revisions, Hidden Text, etc.
Click Remove All for each found item → Save As a clean copy.

Tip

If the document is IRM-protected or shared via OneDrive/SharePoint with sensitivity labels, remove protection first.

PowerShell automation (Windows)

# Clear core & custom properties and remove comments/accept revisions
# Requires Word installed on the machine (COM automation)
$path = "C:\docs\input.docx"
$word = New-Object -ComObject Word.Application
$word.Visible = $false
$doc = $word.Documents.Open($path)

# Accept revisions & delete comments (optional but recommended)
$doc.AcceptAllRevisions()
foreach ($c in @($doc.Comments)) { $c.Delete() }

# Clear built-in properties
$props = $doc.BuiltInDocumentProperties
$props.Item("Author").Value = ""
$props.Item("Last Author").Value = ""
$props.Item("Company").Value = ""
$props.Item("Manager").Value = ""
$props.Item("Category").Value = ""
$props.Item("Keywords").Value = ""
$props.Item("Comments").Value = ""
$props.Item("Title").Value = ""
$props.Item("Subject").Value = ""

# Clear custom properties
$custom = $doc.CustomDocumentProperties
for ($i = $custom.Count; $i -ge 1; $i--) { $custom.Item($i).Delete() }

# Save as new file
$out = "C:\docs\clean.docx"
$doc.SaveAs([ref]$out)
$doc.Close()
$word.Quit()

Run with appropriate permissions. For large batches, combine with Group Policy or an enterprise pipeline.

ExifTool: clear core/custom properties

ExifTool can read/write many OOXML properties inside DOCX. Use it as a second pass after Document Inspector to ensure fields are blank.

# Clear common properties
exiftool -Title= -Subject= -Author= -Creator= -Company= -Manager= -Keywords= -Comments= -Category= -LastModifiedBy= -overwrite_original "doc.docx"

# Clear custom properties too
exiftool -XMP:All= -overwrite_original "doc.docx"

# Recursive folder cleanup (properties only)
exiftool -Title= -Subject= -Author= -Creator= -Company= -Manager= -Keywords= -Comments= -Category= -LastModifiedBy= -overwrite_original -r "./docs"

Note

ExifTool won’t accept/resolve tracked changes or delete comments. Handle those inside Word (GUI/COM) first.

Tracked changes & comments

Accept all changes

Finalize content

Review → Accept ▼ → Accept All Changes. This removes revision history while keeping the final text.

Delete comments

Resolve or remove

Review → Delete → Delete All Comments in Document. Or use the PowerShell COM snippet above.

Embedded images (EXIF/GPS)

Photos inside a DOCX can retain EXIF/GPS. Clean images before embedding, or extract/replace them in the final document.

# Clean an image before inserting into Word
exiftool -all= -tagsFromFile @ -icc_profile -overwrite_original "photo.jpg"

For quick EXIF/GPS removal in still images, use a privacy-first, browser-only cleaner — MetaRemover.com. Processes locally; no uploads.

Verify cleanup

# Inside Word: File → Info — verify Properties fields are blank
# CLI cross-check with ExifTool:
exiftool -G -a -s "clean.docx" | egrep -i "Title|Author|Company|Manager|Keywords|Subject|LastModifiedBy|XMP" || echo "Common fields clear"

# Optional: unpack and view XML
unzip -p "clean.docx" docProps/core.xml   | xmllint --format -
unzip -p "clean.docx" docProps/custom.xml | xmllint --format -

CI/Batch workflows

name: scrub-docx
on:
  push:
    paths: ["docs/**/*.docx"]
jobs:
  clean:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Install exiftool
        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y exiftool
      - name: Clear properties
        run: |
          exiftool -Title= -Subject= -Author= -Creator= -Company= -Manager= -Keywords= -Comments= -Category= -LastModifiedBy= -overwrite_original -r docs/
      - name: Audit
        run: |
          for f in $(git ls-files "docs/**/*.docx"); do
            exiftool -G -a -s "$f" | egrep -i "Title|Author|Company|Manager|Keywords|Subject|LastModifiedBy|XMP" || echo "Clean: $f"
          done

For accepting revisions and deleting comments at scale, run a Windows worker with the PowerShell COM script.

FAQ

Publish clean Word files — protect privacy

Inspect, clean, and verify DOCX metadata. For embedded images, scrub EXIF/GPS first to eliminate location leaks.

Remove Metadata Now → MetaRemover.com