Office document metadata checker

What's inside a modern Office file

A .docx, .xlsx or .pptx file is a ZIP archive of XML files. The checker opens it in your browser and reads:

• Core properties: author, last modified by, created and last saved dates, revision count, title, subject and keywords.
• App properties: company, manager, template name and total editing time.
• Custom properties: fields added by document-management or legal systems, such as client or matter numbers.
• Comments and tracked changes: how many there are, and the names attached to them. Deleted text in tracked changes is still stored in the file.
• Embedded photos: whether pictures pasted into the document still carry GPS positions or camera data.

What cleaning does, and what it leaves to you

Cleaning clears the core, app and custom properties and strips metadata from embedded JPEG and PNG images. The re-check then confirms what is left.

Comments, tracked changes, hidden text, headers and footers are content, so this tool reports them rather than deleting them. Microsoft's Document Inspector handles them: save a copy, then choose File, Info, Check for Issues, Inspect Document, and select Remove All next to each category you want cleared^[1]. Microsoft notes that the inspector can't find text hidden in other ways, such as white text on a white background^[1].

Older .doc, .xls and .ppt files

The older binary formats are not supported. Open them in Office and save as .docx, .xlsx or .pptx first.