Office Settings & Configuration

How to Stop Microsoft Office from Saving Personal Information in Documents

Steven Parker Oct 13, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants to prevent Microsoft Office from automatically embedding personal information, such as the author's name, into document metadata upon saving.

How to Stop Microsoft Office from Saving Personal Information in Documents

Product: Microsoft Office
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Saving documents, particularly on work computers connected to organizational services like SharePoint, where anonymity or privacy is required.
Observed behavior: Microsoft Office automatically adds the signed-in user's name and other personal data as the document author and metadata.

Before you start

Before modifying privacy settings, ensure you have saved any necessary backup copies of your documents. Removing personal information will permanently strip author names and metadata from the file properties upon saving.

Solution 1Recommended

Enable 'Remove personal information from file properties on save'

Use Microsoft Office's built-in Trust Center settings to automatically strip personal metadata every time you save the document.

This is the most effective method for ensuring that your name, organization, and other identifiable metadata are stripped out when you save your work.

Open Word Options

Open your document in Microsoft Word (or other Office application) and click on the 'File' tab in the top-left corner, then select 'Options' at the bottom of the left-hand menu.

Navigate to the Trust Center

In the Options dialog box, select 'Trust Center' from the left pane, and then click the 'Trust Center Settings...' button.

Access Privacy Options

Click on 'Privacy Options' located in the left menu of the newly opened Trust Center window.

Enable the Removal Setting

Check the box for 'Remove personal information from file properties on save' and click 'OK' to apply the changes.

Enable 'Remove personal information from file properties on save'

Document Inspector Requirement: If the checkbox is grayed out, you must first run the Document Inspector. Go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document, then click 'Remove All' next to 'Document Properties and Personal Information'.

Solution 2

Create an Anonymous Document Template (.dotx)

For recurring use, you can save a sanitized document as a template so that all future documents created from it are free of personal information.

Secure Your Privacy with WPS Office

Easily Remove Personal Metadata in WPS Office

WPS Office offers a straightforward way to strip personal information and document properties, ensuring your privacy is protected when sharing files. It perfectly handles Word files without the complicated Trust Center menus.

1. Open your Document: Launch WPS Writer and open the document you wish to sanitize.
2. Access Options: Click the 'Menu' button in the top left corner and select 'Options'.
3. Navigate to Security: Select the 'Security' tab in the Options dialog box.
4. Remove Personal Information: Check the option for 'Remove personal information from file properties on save' and click 'OK'.

Easily remove author names and personal metadata with built-in security features.Fully compatible with Microsoft Office formats, including DOCX and DOTX.Lightweight and fast, providing a seamless document editing experience.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my name keep appearing in the document properties even after I delete it?

If your computer is connected to a SharePoint server or organizational network, Microsoft Office may automatically re-apply the signed-in user's name. Enabling the 'Remove personal information from file properties on save' setting forces Office to strip this data upon every save.

Why is the 'Remove personal information' checkbox grayed out?

This setting is often disabled by default until the document has been inspected. To enable it, navigate to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document. Run the inspector and click 'Remove All' next to 'Document Properties and Personal Information'. The checkbox will then be available.

Can I apply this setting to all my future documents automatically?

The privacy setting applies only to the current document. To easily apply it to future documents, you should save a cleaned document as a custom Word Template (.dotx). You can then use that template whenever you need to start a new, anonymous file.

Does saving the document as HTML remove the author's name?

No, saving as HTML does not permanently strip the metadata in the authoring environment. The author name may appear again in the Save As dialog. Using the Trust Center settings and saving as a sanitized DOCX or DOTX copy is the recommended method.

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