Data Protection Issues

How to Remove Personal Information from Word Documents for Peer Review

Guest Writer Sep 27, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to completely anonymize a manuscript by removing identifying information, such as the author's name, document properties, and tracked changes, prior to submitting it for blind peer review.

How to Remove Personal Information from Word Documents for Peer Review

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Preparing a manuscript for blind peer review submission where all author identifiers must be hidden.
Observed behavior: The document currently contains personal information, document metadata, comments, and tracked changes that must be stripped out.

Before you start

Always save a separate backup copy of your original document before removing personal data, as deleted properties and resolved tracked changes cannot be easily recovered once the file is saved.

Solution 1Recommended

Use the Document Inspector Tool to Remove Hidden Metadata

The built-in Document Inspector is the most reliable way to automatically find and strip hidden personal information, document properties, comments, and tracked changes.

This tool scans the document's hidden data layers to ensure metadata tied to the software license or system user account is completely removed from the file properties.

Open Document Inspector

In the Word desktop application, click on the 'File' tab in the top-left corner, select 'Info', then click on 'Check for Issues' and choose 'Inspect Document'.

Select Inspection Categories

In the Document Inspector dialog box, ensure the checkboxes for 'Document Properties and Personal Information' and 'Comments, Revisions, and Versions' are selected.

Run Inspection and Remove Data

Click the 'Inspect' button. Once the scan is complete, click 'Remove All' next to the categories where identifying information was found, then save the document.

Use the Document Inspector Tool to Remove Hidden Metadata

Successful Anonymization: Removing document properties effectively strips the 'Author' and 'Last Modified By' tags from the file's background metadata.

Solution 2

Manually Remove Identifiers from Document Content

Because the Document Inspector cannot read ordinary text, you must manually check and remove your name from the actual document content, headers, and citations.

Secure Your Documents with WPS Office

Easily Anonymize Documents in WPS Writer

WPS Office provides straightforward security tools to help you automatically remove personal information from file properties upon saving, making it an ideal, lightweight solution for peer review preparations.

1. Open Your Manuscript: Launch WPS Writer and open the document you intend to submit for peer review.
2. Access the Options Menu: Click on the 'Menu' button located at the top left corner of the interface, and select 'Options' from the drop-down list.
3. Navigate to Security Settings: In the Options dialog box, click on the 'Security' tab located in the left-hand navigation pane.
4. Enable Privacy Options: Check the box that says 'Remove personal information from file properties on save' under the Privacy options section, and click 'OK'.
5. Save the Document: Save your document (Ctrl + S). WPS Writer will automatically strip your personal metadata from the file properties upon saving.

Automatically remove personal data from file properties on saveFull compatibility with Microsoft Word (.docx) formatsIntuitive tools for managing comments and tracked changesFree and lightweight alternative for professional document editing

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why didn't the Document Inspector remove my name from the title page?

The Document Inspector only scans hidden metadata, file properties, and system-generated comments. It does not read or alter the actual body text of your document. You must manually delete your name from title pages, headers, and regular paragraphs.

Can I recover personal information once it's removed by the inspector?

No, once you remove personal information and save the document, the metadata cannot be easily restored. It is highly recommended to save a separate, named backup copy of your original file before applying anonymization steps.

Is saving the file as a PDF sufficient for blind peer review?

Not necessarily. While saving as a PDF locks the text layout, PDFs can still retain hidden metadata and author properties from the original file. You must remove the personal information from the Word document properties before exporting it to PDF.

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