How to Remove Metadata from Files? Top 3 Methods

Jared Young ~ Modified: April 7th, 2025 ~ How to ~ 6 Minutes Reading

In today’s times, securing your files has become very important. That’s why many professionals delete metadata from their crucial files. So, do you want to remove metadata from files? But you don’t know how? This article will help you. Here, we will explain the importance of wiping the metadata and the ways to do it.

What is Metadata?

The word Metadata is made up of combining two words: Meta and Data. Data means information and Meta means underlying information about the data. Hence, Metadata is the additional information within your data or file. Such as a file’s metadata is the size of the file, file type, file name, creation date, etc.

So, the Metadata contains all your important information about your file. If it is exposed to some bad people, all your sensitive data will be revealed and steal your files. That’s why it is best to delete metadata from files.

Importance of Removing Metadata

Stripping your metadata not only provides file security but also helps you in many situations. Therefore, here we will share with you instances where you might need to clear your metadata.

The first and foremost benefits of this, is it protects your sensitive information from public view. By deleting crucial data, you can protect your file from privacy.
Companies or businesses have a high risk of leaking sensitive information. That’s why they remove crucial information from their important files.
It also helps you to hide your personal information so that no one tracks the source or the person who created the file.
Metadata also increases the size of the file, which can lead to an oversized file. So, deleting this unnecessary data can reduce the file size.
When sharing your file publicly, deleting the metadata is a good way to hide personal details.

So, it not only helps you to protect your files but also provides you with many advantages. Therefore, we will share methods that you can use to remove metadata from files. But, before that, let’s see the steps to find metadata from your files.

Additional Information: If you don’t know which type of files contain which metadata, here you will find out.

Document Files (Word, PDF, Excel, etc.): Author name, Title, Subject, and keywords, file creation, modification dates, revision history, number of edits, comments or tracked changes, file path, and printer name.
Image files (like JPEG, PNG, Raw, etc.) contain metadata type EXIF: Camera model and settings, data and time taken, GPS location (if geotagging enabled), image dimensions, resolution, color profile, and editing software used.
Video Files (MP4, AVI, MOV, etc.): Video resolution, frame rate, duration, file size, Codec format, date created, GPS location (from recording device), title, artist, and copyright.
Email Files (EML, MSG, PST, etc.): Sender/recipient email addresses, subject line, date and time sent, email client used, IP addresses of the sender, Message-ID and routing path.

How to Detect Metadata in Files?

Before we go through the techniques to remove personal information from files. We should first check the metadata. The process of finding the information is simple, so properly follow the steps below.

In your Windows OS, run the File Explorer.
Find the files in which you want to see the metadata. Right-click on the file.
Select Properties, then click on the Details tab.
In this tab, you will see your basic metadata like size, name, creation date, etc.
If you have image files then you see more information by clicking on the EXIF tab.

Now, you have seen the metaproperties of your files. It is time to remove them. In the upcoming section of the article, we will explain all the possible solutions that can remove metadata from files.

Delete Metadata from Files in Windows OS

If you are a Windows OS user, you can manually remove the metadata information. Follow the steps below to see how it works.

Go to File Explorer and browse the file in which you want to strip the metadata.
Right-click the file, then click on the Properties button from the drop-down list.
Choose the Details option and select Remove Properties and Personal Information.
Click on the one removal method: Create a copy of all the possible properties removed or Remove the following properties from this file.
You can remove the specific metadata by clicking on the properties. Then, press the OK button.

Remove Metadata from Files for Microsoft Office Documents

If your file is created by any Microsoft Office applications, like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. you can use this process.

Find and open the files in the Microsoft application.
Click the File button, then the Info button.
Select Check for Issues button then Inspect Document.
Click on the Inspect button. After the inspection is done, hit the Remove All button.

Here are the manual ways to delete your meta properties from your files. Both are free to use. However, it is not possible to bulk remove metadata from group of files. For this, you can use professional software.

Delete Metadata from Files using Professional Software

If you are thinking of manual methods, clear your metadata free of cost. So, why is there a need for an automated solution? Then you must understand that it will be difficult to clear information from thousands of files. Also, there are chances of human error. That’s why professional software like Corbett Metadata Cleaner will help you.

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This tool is created for every user who wants to remove the metadata whether they know how to do it or not. As the software automatically identifies your metaproperties, the user has to just press one button and batch remove metadata from files. To know how it works, follow the steps below.

Steps to Remove Metadata from Files

Download and install the tool on your Windows OS.
Click on the Open button, then choose the type of files which you need to remove the metadata.
Upload your files from the hard drive to the software.
Once it is in the tool, you can preview the content of the files, by right-clicking them.
Click on the Action buttons button, then select the Clear Metadata option.
Select the Browse button and find a destination path to save the file with no meta properties. At last, click the Save button.

By properly following these steps users can easily delete their meta information from multiple files, without making any mistakes.

To Conclude

Exposing the metadata of your files causes you many security issues. Therefore, in this article, we have explained how you can remove metadata from files. Here, we understand the importance of deleting the meta properties and provide three different ways to clear your personal information. If you follow these techniques you can protect your important files.

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