Remove tracked changes, comments and author from Word
Drop in a .docx file to see the tracked changes, deleted text, comments, author names and hidden text inside it. Then download a clean copy with all of it gone.
Read and cleaned in your browser. Your document is never uploaded.- 1Add your file
- 2See what's inside
- 3Download a clean copy
No file to hand? Try it with an example: or
Your file stays on this device. How do we know?
How it works
To remove tracked changes from a Word file, drop the .docx above. You'll see every insertion and deletion, the comments and who wrote them, the author and company, and any hidden text. Click Remove hidden data to accept all changes, delete the comments and clear the names in one go. The text you see stays the same. Checking is free; cleaning Word files is part of Pro, and your first clean each day is free.
What the cleaner removes from a Word file
| Removed | Kept |
|---|---|
| Tracked changes, accepted, so deleted text is gone | All visible text and formatting |
| Comments and replies, with the names on them | Images, tables and headers |
| Author, last saved by, company and manager | Links |
| Created and last-saved dates, total editing time | |
| Hidden text | |
| Custom properties and the preview thumbnail | |
| Location and camera details in pasted photos | Sensitivity labels set by your organization |
The cleaner also strips the editing session codes Word adds to every paragraph, which can show which parts of a document were written together. Before cleaning, the Word and PDF metadata viewer shows the same list for free.
Why tracked changes are a risk when you send a file
When Track Changes is on, Word keeps the text you deleted inside the file. It disappears from view if you switch to Simple Markup or No Markup, but it's still there for the person you send it to. A price you crossed out in a proposal or a sentence you cut from a contract can be read back in a few clicks. Comments behave the same way: a note to a colleague goes out with the file unless someone deletes it.
Word's own fix is Review > Accept All Changes, then deleting the comments, then running File > Info > Inspect Document to clear the names. It works, but it's three separate steps and easy to forget under a deadline. Our guide to removing metadata from Word walks through those steps if you'd rather do it in Word.
When to clean a Word file
Clean it just before it leaves your hands: a contract going to the other side, a proposal to a client, a CV built on a work template, or a report going out to people outside your company. If you're turning it into a PDF, clean the Word file first, then check the PDF with the PDF metadata remover. For a whole folder of documents, the batch cleaner does them in one go.
Questions, answered
Does it accept or reject the tracked changes?
It accepts them. Insertions become normal text and deleted text is removed from the file for good, which is what Word's Accept All Changes does. If you want to reject some changes, do that in Word first, then clean the file here.
Can I remove tracked changes without Word?
Yes. The cleaner works in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, with no Word installed. It reads the .docx on your device, accepts the changes and saves a new copy to your downloads.
How do I change or remove the author name in Word?
The cleaner removes the author and last-saved-by names from the file properties, along with the names on comments and tracked changes. In Word itself you can edit the author under File > Info, but that doesn't touch the names attached to each comment and edit.
Can I keep the comments and only remove the names?
Yes. After the check, choose Choose what to remove and untick comments. They stay in the document, and the author, company and other properties are still removed.
Does it work with old .doc files?
No. It reads .docx, the format Word has used since 2007. Open an old .doc in Word, save it as .docx, then drop that copy in. Password-protected files need the password removed first, under File > Info > Protect Document.
Is hidden text removed too?
Yes. Text formatted as hidden doesn't show on screen or in print, but anyone who turns on hidden text in Word can read it. The cleaner finds it, shows it to you, and removes it from the clean copy.
Clean Word, PDF, video and audio files too
Pro removes hidden data from documents, videos and audio, and cleans whole folders at once. From $2 a month, billed yearly, and your first clean each day is free.