Office Settings & Configuration

How to Disable Personal Information Removal in Word Documents

Maira Mehtab Sep 20, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to stop Word from automatically removing personal information from document properties and disable the associated notification upon saving.

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Saving or opening a Word document where metadata like author names needs to be preserved.
Observed behavior: Word displays a 'Personal Information Removal Enabled' notification and automatically strips user metadata from the file's properties upon saving.

Before you start

Keep in mind that the personal information removal setting is applied on a per-document basis, meaning changes made to one file will not automatically apply to other previously created documents.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable the Setting via Trust Center

Manually disable the privacy setting through Word's Trust Center for the current document.

Open Trust Center

In Microsoft Word, go to the 'File' tab and select 'Options'. Click on 'Trust Center' in the left pane, then click the 'Trust Center Settings' button.

Modify Privacy Options

Navigate to 'Privacy Options' in the Trust Center dialog box. Clear the checkbox next to 'Remove personal information from file properties on save'.

Save Changes

Click 'OK' to apply the changes and save your document. The notification should no longer appear for this specific file.

Solution 2

Automate with an AutoOpen Macro

Use a VBA macro in your Normal template to automatically disable this setting every time a document is opened.

Solution 3

Update Previously Created Files Individually

Apply the fix manually to older documents that inherited the privacy setting from a previous template.

Manage Privacy Settings Easily

Control Document Privacy Settings with WPS Office

WPS Office offers a streamlined interface to easily manage your document's privacy and metadata, fully compatible with Microsoft Word formats without the complex Trust Center hurdles.

1. Open Document in WPS Writer: Launch WPS Writer and open the document you wish to configure.
2. Access Options: Click the 'Menu' button in the top-left corner and select 'Options' from the drop-down list.
3. Modify Security Settings: Navigate to the 'Security' tab. Under the Privacy options, uncheck 'Remove personal information from file properties on save' and click 'OK'.

Seamless compatibility with Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) formats.Straightforward security and privacy settings interface.Free, lightweight, and fast document processing alternative.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the 'Remove personal information' option greyed out in Trust Center?

This option is typically greyed out until you run the Document Inspector and explicitly tell Word to remove personal information. Once the inspector has stripped the metadata once for that document, the checkbox becomes active and can be toggled.

Does disabling this setting affect all my Word documents globally?

No. The 'Remove personal information from file properties on save' setting is saved on a per-document basis. Changing it in one file will not impact other existing documents.

What exact personal information gets removed by this feature?

When enabled, this feature removes the author name, manager, company name, routing slips, and other identifying metadata from the file's properties before the document is saved.

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