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What Metadata Does Office Remove from File Properties on Save?
Question details
The user needs clarification on exactly what metadata is deleted when the Office Trust Center option to remove personal information on save is enabled.
- Product
- Microsoft Office / OneDrive
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Protecting document privacy by removing identifying metadata before sharing or publishing a file.
- Observed behavior
- Users are unsure which specific author details, editing metadata, and comment names are automatically deleted by the system and which remain intact in the file.
Before sharing sensitive documents, always review both the file properties and the content within the document itself, as automated privacy tools do not scan or remove names typed directly into the text.
Understanding the Scope of Removed Personal Information
Use this breakdown to understand exactly which properties are cleared by the Trust Center privacy settings and what requires manual deletion.
When the 'Remove personal information from file properties on Save' option is enabled in the Office Trust Center, it targets specific metadata fields while leaving actual document content untouched. Understanding these boundaries is critical for data protection.
The privacy tool automatically removes the Author, Manager, and Company properties from the file's Summary tab metadata.
The 'Last saved by' information is completely cleared from the Statistics tab.
Any system-generated names associated with comments or tracked changes are anonymized and uniformly changed to the generic label 'Author'.
Names or personal details typed directly into the document's body, or manually entered inside the text box of a comment, are ignored by the tool and must be deleted manually.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does the privacy tool remove names typed inside the document body?
No, the built-in removal tool only targets system metadata and file properties. Any names or personal details manually typed into the document text or inside comment boxes must be removed manually.
How are tracked changes affected when removing personal information?
When the privacy option is enabled, any system-assigned names associated with tracked changes or comments are anonymized and simply changed to 'Author'.
Where can I find the setting to remove personal information in Office?
This setting is typically located by navigating to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options, where you can check the box to 'Remove personal information from file properties on save'.
