![Remove Remove](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125467098/852344592.jpg)
Jun 17, 2009 - All word processors attach meta data by default, including Microsoft Word. Open the Office document that you want to inspect for hidden data or personal. It may work to simply set Word 2008 on mac to “remove personal.
![Remove Remove](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125467098/702975524.png)
As John indicated in his opening statement, resolving tracked changes effectively removes them from the document. Tracked changes, though, are not metadata. That seems to be where this conversation went off the rails. Tracked changes are integral content added to a document by those who edit the document.
It is visible & editable when the document is displayed on screen. Metadata is information about the document & the user, most of which typically is appended by the operating system. This is what John meant by having to create a 'clean computer', but unless you're in a very sophisticated, highly technical espionage environment it's literally impossible to do.
The average user cannot install an operating system or software without providing a certain amount of information, so phony user data, registration information & other methods of deception would be necessary, but even that wouldn't be enough. The simple fact is that anyone in such an environment would have the expertise available, but the matter would start by not electronically transmitting copies of the actual Word document in the first place. That's the purpose of alternatives, such as PDF. For most requirements it's sufficient to have personal information removed from certain documents. That's easily accomplished in Word 2016 by going to Tools Protect Document to check the box for that purpose. Please mark HELPFUL or ANSWERED as appropriate to keep list as clean as possible ☺ Regards, Bob J.