The Complete DOCX Metadata Removal Guide for Attorneys
May 3, 2026 · 10 min read · By ShieldDrop Legal Research Team
Microsoft Word documents contain more hidden data than any other file format attorneys commonly use. This guide covers every metadata field Word embeds, how to find it, how to remove it manually, and how to use ShieldDrop to catch what Word's own tools miss.
What's Hidden in Every DOCX You Send
When you create or edit a Word document, it silently records:
The Critical Distinction: Metadata vs. Content
Before diving into removal steps, you need to understand what metadata scrubbers like ShieldDrop can and cannot do:
- Author name and company fields
- Last modified by
- Creation and edit timestamps
- Total editing time
- Template path and name
- Revision counter
- All OOXML property fields
- Tracked changes (change content)
- Comments in document body
- Hidden text (formatted as Hidden)
- Embedded objects and attachments
- Macro/VBA code
- Custom XML data
Step 1: Accept All Tracked Changes
This is the most critical step and the one most attorneys skip. Tracked changes don't just show edits — they preserve the original text alongside the revised text. Anyone who receives your document can reveal every deletion and insertion.
- Go to Review tab in the ribbon
- Click Accept dropdown → Accept All Changes
- Then click Delete All Comments (also in the Review tab)
- Verify: the document should now show no markup, no colored text, no change balloons in the margin
Step 2: Run Document Inspector
Word's built-in Document Inspector catches several categories of hidden data that aren't visible on the page.
- File → Info → Check for Issues → Inspect Document
- Ensure all checkboxes are selected
- Click Inspect
- For any category showing issues, click Remove All
- Re-inspect to confirm the categories now show clean
Step 3: Check for Hidden Text
Hidden text is a Word formatting attribute that makes text invisible on screen (and when printed) while keeping it in the file. It is not removed by Document Inspector by default in all Word versions — double-check manually.
- Press Ctrl+A (or ⌘A on Mac) to select all text
- Open the Font dialog: Home → Font group → click the small arrow, or press Ctrl+D
- If Hidden checkbox shows a dash (indeterminate), some text is hidden — uncheck it and click OK
- Then search for and delete any now-visible hidden text
Step 4: Strip Core Metadata with ShieldDrop
After you've handled tracked changes, comments, and hidden text in Word, the document still contains OOXML property metadata — author name, company, timestamps, revision count — that Word's own tools often leave behind or handle inconsistently across platforms.
Upload the file to ShieldDrop. It uses ExifTool to strip all OOXML Core Properties, App Properties, and custom property fields from the DOCX's internal XML structure — the parts of the ZIP container that Word writes even when you clear properties through the UI.
- core.xml: title, subject, creator, keywords, description, lastModifiedBy, revision, created, modified
- app.xml: application version, company, total editing time, template name, pages, words, characters
- custom.xml: any custom document properties your firm's templates may add
Step 5: Verify Before Producing
Never assume the document is clean without verification. After scrubbing:
- Open the cleaned DOCX in Word → File → Info → Properties (right panel). All fields should be blank.
- Right-click the file in Windows Explorer or Finder → Properties / Get Info. Author, company, and modified-by should be absent.
- Open the DOCX as a ZIP (rename to .zip) and inspect
word/core.xmldirectly. All fields should be empty strings or absent.
Full Pre-Production Checklist for DOCX
Automate the Metadata Strip with ShieldDrop
After completing Steps 1-3 manually in Word, drag the file into ShieldDrop for the final automated metadata strip. Takes 3 seconds.
Open ShieldDrop →