How to Remove Your Personal Information From File Metadata on Windows

Files sometimes contain metadata, which can reveal information about you if uploaded to the internet. Here’s how to remove it on Windows.

Whether you create documents on your computer or import photos from your mobile device, files store some personal information in their properties. When you pass them on to others or upload them to the web, this data goes along with it and can invade your privacy.

Fortunately, Windows allows users to delete personal information before forwarding files. This article explains how to do so.

What kind of personal information is stored in the file?

The type of personal information stored in a file’s properties depends on the file type. The document’s saved information may include the author’s name, the last saved user, and the revision number.

Likewise, image files contain information such as camera model, author, etc. This information is called file metadata and you should separate this data file if you plan to upload it to the internet.

Now let’s see how to get rid of this information before sharing it publicly.

To remove personal information from a document file, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the file for which you want to remove the metadata.
2. In the context menu, select Nature.
3. inside Nature window, navigate to Details navigation.
4. Click Remove attribute and Personal Information link.

You can remove the attribute in two ways here:

1. When you choose Make a copy with all attributes that can be deleted, Windows will create a copy of the original file with your personal information removed. If you want to delete all your personal information then this is the best choice. Tick ​​the circle to the left of this option and click ALRIGHT.
2. With the second option, Remove the following attributes from this file; you can remove the attribute selectively. To do so, check the box on the left and click ALRIGHT.

Since we’ve removed the information from text documents, you can do the same for any file type. You should also check out our article on how to remove your personal information from Google search results if you are concerned about your privacy.

Remove personal information from file properties

Now you know how to delete your personal information stored in file metadata. Be sure to delete it before sharing files online. While this method may be enough to remove metadata, you can also use apps like Metadata Touch and online tools like MetaClean to more efficiently accomplish the same task.

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