Remove personal information from your documents (2003/2007/2010)

To make your documents easier to store, route, and locate, Word automatically saves hidden information (a.k.a. metadata) within your document. Metadata includes information such as authors’ and editors’ names, routing slips, and email headers. You can configure Word to remove this metadata during the save process if you'd rather restrict access to this information.

To share your documents without sharing this personal information, follow these steps in 2003:

1. Select Tools | Options from the menu bar to open the Options dialog box.
2. Click on the Security tab.
3. In the Privacy Options panel, select the Remove Personal Information From This File On Save check box, and then click OK.

In 2007/2010, click the Office (File) button and choose Prepare | Inspect Document. (You may be prompted to save changes first.) Click Inspect, then click Remove all next to the types of hidden content you want to remove.

Each time you save a document, this setting removes its file properties (i.e., the contents of the Author, Manager, Company, and Last Saved By fields located in the Properties dialog box). In addition, names associated with tracked changes, comments, and versions are changed to Author, and routing slips and email headers, if any, are removed. This setting remains in effect for all documents unless you disable it.