13 July 2026 · 5 min read

How to Remove Your Name From a Word or PDF Document (Free)

Remove the author name from Word and PDF files for free. Documents store your name and edit history in hidden metadata; strip it in your browser.

Every Word and PDF you create quietly stores an author name — usually the name you set up on your computer — plus edit history, timestamps, and the software used. If you're sending a document to a client, submitting anonymously, or just don't want your real name embedded, here's how to strip it for free.

What documents reveal about you

• Author name: often your real name from your computer's account.
• Company and last-modified-by: who created and last edited the file.
• Timestamps: when it was created and revised.
• Software: the app and version used, and sometimes template paths.

How to remove it (free, in your browser)

• Open Skrubly's Metadata Cleaner and drop in your Word (.docx), PowerPoint (.pptx) or PDF file.
• It detects the embedded author and document metadata.
• Click Clean, then download the stripped copy — the file is processed in your browser and never uploaded.

Why the built-in options aren't enough

Word and Acrobat do have an 'inspect document' feature, but it's buried, easy to forget, and doesn't help for files you receive from others. Dropping a file into a dedicated cleaner is faster, works on PDFs and Office files alike, and keeps everything on your device.