Inspect document properties
Review title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, creation date, and modification date. These fields may reveal a person, organization, software workflow, or internal project name.
Custom properties can contain additional values not shown in a basic file browser.
Look beyond metadata fields
Comments, annotations, form values, embedded files, layers, bookmarks, scripts, hidden text, and previous revisions can expose content that is not obvious in a normal page view.
A visual check alone is not enough for sensitive documents.
Create and verify a sanitized copy
Use a trusted local sanitizer or a print-to-PDF workflow when appropriate. Printing may flatten some content but can also remove accessibility, links, forms, signatures, and quality.
Open the output in a different viewer, inspect properties, search text, copy suspicious areas, and check for attachments and comments.
Understand the limits
Removing document metadata does not remove visible names, account numbers, or sensitive text. It also does not make a document anonymous when the content itself identifies the subject.
For legal, medical, financial, or regulated documents, use an approved redaction and sanitization process.
Final review checklist
- Document properties inspected
- Comments and attachments checked
- Sanitized copy created locally
- Output reopened in another viewer
- Visible content reviewed separately