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Metadata Cleaner for Microsoft 365 removes hidden information — author and last-edited-by names, comments, tracked changes, hidden text, document properties, and PDF metadata — from Word and PDF files before you share them. Cleaning runs inside Word or Outlook on your computer: no Company account, no uploads, no analytics.
Where it works
- Word (Windows, Mac, and Word on the web with current Microsoft 365): Home tab → Clean hidden info → Scan this document, then Clean & open a copy. The cleaned copy opens in a new window; save it under any name. The document you had open is not changed.
- Outlook (new Outlook on Windows and Mac, Outlook on the web, classic Outlook with current Microsoft 365): while composing, choose Clean attachments. Each .docx or PDF attachment is replaced in the message by a cleaned copy and re-scanned. The files on your computer are untouched.
- Any host: Clean files from my computer… cleans files you pick and offers each cleaned copy as a download named
name (cleaned).docxorname (cleaned).pdf.
Supported file types
- Word documents —
.docx - PDF documents —
.pdf
What it removes
- Word: author and last-modified-by names; comments and reviewer identities; tracked changes (insertions kept, deletions removed, change history dropped); hidden text; title, subject, keywords, category, status, description; company, manager, template, editing time; custom properties and custom XML stores; revision-save and document IDs.
- PDF: document information (title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, dates); XMP metadata; comment, markup, ink and note annotations; attached files and embedded files; document JavaScript and open actions. Links and form fields are kept.
What it does not do
- It is not a redaction tool — it removes hidden info, not content that is visible on the page.
- It does not inspect photo (EXIF or location) metadata inside embedded images.
- It does not do OCR, flatten PDF form fields, or remove optional-content (layer) definitions from PDFs; these are preserved and reported as notes.
- It does not support legacy
.doc, Excel, PowerPoint, macro-enabled, encrypted, or password-protected files, or files over 50 MB. - It does not clean in the cloud — there is no server processing of your documents.
Purchase, license keys, and refunds
The add-ins include a 14-day free trial. Afterwards cleaning requires a per-user subscription purchased through Microsoft AppSource (US$4.99 per user per month or US$49 per user per year). After purchase, Microsoft sends you to our activation page, which shows a license key. Open the add-in, find Access, paste the key, and choose Activate. Microsoft handles billing, taxes, renewals, cancellations, and refunds under its marketplace rules; we do not receive payment-card information. Removing the add-in does not cancel a subscription — cancel in the Microsoft 365 admin center or your Microsoft account.
Common issues
“Office did not allow reading this item”
In Word, save the document first (unsaved new documents cannot be read as a file), then scan again. In Outlook, make sure the message is in compose mode and the attachment is a file, not a link or an inline image.
“This file is password-protected or encrypted”
Remove the password first, then clean a copy of the unlocked file. Your original is not changed.
“Cleaned with items to review”
The add-in improved the file but one or more items could not be fully removed or inspected (for example, PDF form fields are preserved, or a document contains embedded images whose photo metadata is not inspected). The result lists what remains so you can decide whether the cleaned copy is safe to share.
“Could not reach the license service”
The add-in checks your subscription about once a day and allows seven days offline. If the check keeps failing, confirm your network allows metadata-cleaner-office.vercel.app, then re-enter the key.
“Free trial ended”
Purchase a seat on AppSource and activate with the license key, or contact us if you believe your subscription is active.
Installing for a whole firm
A Microsoft 365 administrator can deploy both add-ins to selected users from the Microsoft 365 admin center (Integrated apps). Each licensed user enters the firm’s license key once.
Contact
Email dean@myworkingmemory.ai with the host (Word or Outlook), platform, file type, and what you expected to happen. Please do not send sensitive documents by email.