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How to remove metadata from a Word document on a Mac
By Himanshu Ranjan · Updated 8 November 2026
Select the document in Finder, open FileDial and choose Privacy › Remove metadata. It clears author, company and comment authors. RTF, DOC and ODT files are re-saved, so complex layouts can shift. It works offline and on many files at once.
What metadata a document carries
Every Word file carries properties beyond the text you see: who wrote it, which company the app was registered to, and who made each comment. Send a draft to a client and that name travels with it. The same applies to spreadsheets and slides.
FileDial's Privacy › Remove metadata is listed for documents, spreadsheets and slides. Its note for documents says it clears author, company and comment authors. We will not claim it removes anything it does not name.
Steps
Run it on copies if the originals matter, since this tool changes the file you select.
- Duplicate the document in Finder if you want to keep the original with its properties.
- Select the file or files you will send.
- Open the dial and choose Privacy, then Remove metadata.
- Check the result card, then open the file's properties to confirm the author is empty.
- Send the cleaned file.
The re-save caveat
The note says RTF, DOC and ODT are re-saved, so complex layouts can shift. DOCX is a ZIP of XML, so properties can be cleared without redrawing pages; formats that are re-saved are a bigger change. If the file has a delicate layout, check it, or send a PDF made with To PDF › Convert to PDF.
A PDF carries its own metadata, so it is not automatically clean either; use the PDF tools for those, covered in our redaction guide.
Tracked changes and comments are different
Metadata is one thing and visible review marks are another. Privacy › Remove comments only removes comments and leaves tracked changes. Privacy › Accept changes and remove comments keeps every insertion, drops deletions and removes all comments. Pick the one that matches what you intend to share; see our separate guide on accepting tracked changes.
Also worth knowing: Privacy › Remove extended attributes & quarantine makes a clean copy without quarantine, Finder tags, comments or download source, which is a different layer of file information that lives on the Mac rather than in the document.
Built-in alternative
Word has a built-in route in its Inspect Document feature, and Pages and Numbers let you edit author information in the document settings. The exact menus differ by version, so we describe them only in general. They work one file at a time, so a folder of files is where a batch tool saves effort.
A pre-send routine
Metadata is one of several things to check before a file leaves your hands. A practical routine: finish edits, run Privacy › Accept changes and remove comments if the document is final, run Privacy › Remove metadata, and open the result to confirm. If the document is going out as a PDF, convert after cleaning with To PDF › Convert to PDF, so the PDF is made from the clean copy.
Keep the original and send the clean copy. If you edit the clean copy later in Word or Pages, the app may add your name back, so run the tool again after the final edit.
- Finish editing and save the document.
- Accept changes and remove comments if the file is final.
- Run Privacy › Remove metadata on a copy.
- Open the copy, check the properties, and then send it.
Common mistakes and when FileDial fits
Be precise about the claim. The tool clears author, company and comment authors. It does not promise to remove text hidden in the body, text in headers or footers, images that contain information, or details in file names. The file name itself often says more than the properties do, so rename if needed with Rename › Replace text in names…
For files that need real redaction, such as removing a name from the visible text, edit the content itself. Metadata cleaning is hygiene, not redaction.
Use it when you have many files to clean, or when you want a quick, local step before sharing. It runs on your Mac and does not upload anything, which matters because the metadata describes the document's authors.
It is not a full sanitiser, and the note does not claim to be. For high-stakes disclosure, such as legal or regulated documents, follow your organisation's own process and inspect the file in the authoring app as well. Treat the tool as one layer, and combine it with a PDF export or redaction when the visible text also needs protection.
Cleaning the original and losing the author information you needed is the first. Always keep a copy. The second is cleaning the DOCX and then editing it again in an app that stamps your name back in; clean as the last step. The third is trusting the cleaned file without opening it: open the result and check the properties panel. The fourth is forgetting the file name, which often holds a client or project name.
If you share through email, remember that mail itself adds data about you. The attachment is only one part of what leaves your Mac.
Questions
What does Remove metadata clear in a Word file?
According to the tool's note it clears author, company and comment authors. It does not claim to clear anything else, so review the document body, headers, footers and file name yourself if you are concerned. Metadata cleaning is hygiene, not a replacement for redacting visible text.
Does it change my original file, and will my layout change?
Keep a duplicate if the original matters, and check the result card and Undo. DOCX is cleared in place without redrawing pages. The note warns that RTF, DOC and ODT are re-saved, so complex layouts in those formats can shift and should be checked.
Does the tool work on spreadsheets and slides too?
Yes. Privacy › Remove metadata is listed for documents, spreadsheets and slides. For spreadsheets and slides the note says it clears author, company and comment authors, so you can use the same routine on a workbook or a deck before sharing it.