Legal Metadata Scrubber: Clean Word, Excel and PDF Files Before You Send
A draft that leaves the firm carries more than its text. Word keeps deleted wording as tracked changes and keeps every comment with its author, Excel keeps hidden sheets and the folder the file was saved in, and a PDF can hold attachments, comments and the names of everyone who edited it.
This page opens the Metadata Remover on its Legal handoff preset. Deep Clean accepts tracked changes, removes comments, speaker notes, hidden text and hidden sheets, clears document properties, and lists every item it removed in a before/after report you can keep on the matter file. Up to 50 documents run at once, entirely in your browser.
Metadata Remover: Remove EXIF, GPS & Hidden Data from Your Files
Find and permanently remove hidden metadata from images, documents, video, audio and vector files: EXIF, GPS, XMP, IPTC, MakerNotes, ID3 tags, Office properties and QuickTime atoms. Deep Clean goes further in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OpenDocument and PDF files and removes tracked changes, comments, speaker notes, hidden sheets, attachments and scripts. Every byte is parsed and rewritten in your browser, and nothing is uploaded. We never fetch map tiles either, because that would leak the very coordinate you are erasing.
How it removes metadata (per format)
JPEG / PNG / WebP: the EXIF block is rewritten with only the tags you allow (drop GPS, keep orientation); XMP, IPTC and comments are removed as chosen. Pixels are untouched.
TIFF / HEIC / AVIF: these can’t be edited byte-safely, so the pixels are re-encoded to a clean PNG/JPEG. All metadata goes and the format changes.
PDF: the Document Info dictionary (custom keys included), XMP on the document, pages and images, and the file ID are removed. Deep Clean also drops JavaScript and launch or submit actions, attachments, comments and markup, XFA form data and editor data (PieceInfo). Objects nothing points to any more are pruned, so removed data is out of the file, not just unlinked, and incremental-update history collapses into one revision.
DOCX / XLSX / PPTX:docProps/core.xml, app.xml and custom properties are cleared. Deep Clean accepts tracked changes and removes comments, hidden text, speaker notes, hidden sheets, custom XML and the saved preview, and local file paths in links are cut to the file name.
ODT / ODS / ODP:meta.xml authors, dates, editing time and custom fields, the preview thumbnail and the printer name go; Deep Clean also accepts tracked changes and removes comments and speaker notes.
MP4 / MOV / M4A:udta/meta boxes (including QuickTime GPS) are zeroed in place, so playback is unaffected.
MKV / WebM: title, dates, writing app and Tags are neutralised in place as EBML Void elements.
MP3 / WAV / FLAC: ID3v2, RIFF INFO and Vorbis comments are rebuilt without the removed fields; ID3v1 and cover art are dropped.
SVG / EPS:<script> elements, on* handlers, editor namespaces, RDF metadata and author/date comments are stripped.
Add your details after cleaning
Switch on Add your details to sign each cleaned file with your name, copyright notice, credit line, title and licence. It runs as a second pass over the cleaned bytes, so nothing that was removed can come back. JPEG files get the details in XMP, IPTC and EXIF, which covers Google Images (including the Licensable badge when you add a licence URL), Adobe apps, Windows and macOS; PNG and WebP get XMP, EXIF and, for PNG, its own text fields; PDF gets Author, Title and XMP; Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OpenDocument files get Author, Title and custom properties. Text in any language is stored as UTF-8, and EXIF, which only holds plain Latin text, is used only when the text fits. Fields accept {year}, {filename} and {n}, profiles are saved in your browser, and every file is read back to list the readers that will show the credit.
The optional AI-training opt-out writes the IPTC Data Mining flag “Prohibited for AI/ML training”. It states your terms; it does not stop anyone technically. Instagram, Facebook and X strip metadata on upload, so the details stay with the files you send and publish yourself. GIF, SVG, EPS, audio and video files are cleaned but not signed.
Limits
This tool edits metadata and hidden content. It does not run OCR and cannot remove what is part of the visible content, such as text under a black box or faces in a photo. PDF form answers are kept, and PDF layers that are switched off are flagged for you to check rather than deleted. A formula that reads from a hidden Excel sheet shows #REF! once that sheet is removed. MP4/MOV and Matroska tags are cleared as a block, not field by field. Browsers stamp a downloaded file with the time it is saved, so “Preserve file dates” only controls the timestamps embedded in the file.
Frequently asked questions
Does Deep Clean accept tracked changes or reject them?
Deep Clean accepts them: inserted text stays, deleted text goes, and the document reads as it does with all changes accepted in Word. The record of who changed what, and when, is gone. If a change should be rejected instead, reject it in Word first and then clean the file.
Will removing a hidden Excel sheet break the workbook?
The workbook still opens normally, with the remaining sheets, names and tab order kept consistent. A formula on a visible sheet that reads from the removed sheet will show #REF!, and the cleaning note warns about this, so copy any values you need onto a visible sheet before cleaning.
How is this different from Word's Document Inspector?
Document Inspector works one Word, Excel or PowerPoint file at a time inside Office. The Metadata Remover cleans up to 50 files in one run, covers PDF and OpenDocument files as well, works in any browser on Windows, Mac or Linux, and produces a report of what it removed from each file.
Does it remove the author name typed into a letterhead or signature block?
No. Names that are part of the visible text are content, not metadata, and stay in the document. Use a redaction tool for those. The Metadata Remover clears the author fields, comment authors, revision authors and the other places a name hides behind the page.
Is my document uploaded anywhere to be checked?
No. The whole check runs in your browser and the file is never uploaded. Previewing and checking need no account; an account is needed only to spend tokens when you download the result.
Key facts about Metadata Remover: where it runs, what it costs, what it accepts and produces, and its limits.
Where it runs
Entirely in your browser. Files are never uploaded.
Cost
20 tokens per file (about $0.20 at the base rate); 250 tokens for up to 50 files
Accepts
JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, TIFF, HEIC, AVIF, PDF, Word/Excel/PowerPoint, ODT/ODS/ODP, MP4, MKV, MP3, WAV, FLAC, SVG, EPS, a folder or a ZIP
Produces
The same file with its metadata removed and, with Deep Clean, its tracked changes, comments, speaker notes, hidden sheets, PDF attachments and scripts too, plus a before/after field report. Batches download as a ZIP that keeps your folders, with optional neutral file names.
Batch
Up to 50 files per run.
Account needed
Only to spend tokens. Browsing and previewing are free.
What it does not do
It removes metadata and hidden content, not visible content. Text, faces or a location shown on the page or in the image itself stay there, and PDF form answers are kept.
Metadata Remover: before and after
An illustration with sample files; your own files show their own results.
