Will removing metadata affect my manuscript's formatting, references, or figures?

No. Deliteful only modifies document property fields. All text content, citation formatting, embedded figures, tables, and styles are preserved exactly as they appear in the original file.

My journal requires DOCX submission — does this tool output DOCX?

Yes. The tool processes DOCX files and returns a cleaned DOCX file. The format is identical to your input; only the metadata fields are changed.

What if my co-author's name appears in the metadata instead of mine?

The tool clears whichever name is stored in the author and last-modified-by fields, regardless of whose name it is. Both fields are removed, leaving the property blank.

Does this also remove metadata added by reference management software like Zotero or Mendeley?

The tool removes core DOCX property fields. Metadata injected into the document body by reference managers as field codes is part of the document content and is not affected. Custom document properties added by third-party plugins may also not be cleared.

Strip Author Metadata from Word Manuscripts Before Double-Blind Journal Submission

Double-blind peer review requires that reviewers cannot identify the authors of a manuscript — but submitting a Word file without clearing its metadata can expose your name and institution in the document properties before a reviewer even opens the text. Deliteful removes that identifying metadata from your DOCX manuscript in one step.

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Journals requiring double-blind review typically instruct authors to anonymize manuscript text — removing author names from the title page, acknowledgments, and self-citations. What those instructions often omit is the metadata layer: the DOCX file itself stores the author's name in its core properties, and a reviewer who checks File > Info or Document Properties can see it immediately. A 2018 study in PLOS ONE found that author identity cues in submissions meaningfully influenced reviewer recommendations, making true anonymization — including metadata — important for review integrity.

Deliteful's DOCX Metadata Remover clears the author, last modified by, title, subject, keyword, and timestamp fields from your manuscript file. Your text, references, figures, and formatting are untouched. The tool is browser-based, requires no institutional IT access, and costs one credit — making it a practical final step in your manuscript preparation checklist alongside text anonymization and reference list review.

How it works

1
Create your free Deliteful account
Sign up with Google OAuth — takes about 30 seconds, no credit card required.
2
Upload your anonymized manuscript DOCX
Add the Word file you've already text-anonymized for double-blind submission.
3
Remove author and identifying metadata
Deliteful clears the author, modified by, title, subject, keywords, and timestamps from the file properties.
4
Submit the clean file
Download the metadata-free DOCX and upload it to your journal submission portal.

Frequently asked questions

Will removing metadata affect my manuscript's formatting, references, or figures?: No. Deliteful only modifies document property fields. All text content, citation formatting, embedded figures, tables, and styles are preserved exactly as they appear in the original file.
My journal requires DOCX submission — does this tool output DOCX?: Yes. The tool processes DOCX files and returns a cleaned DOCX file. The format is identical to your input; only the metadata fields are changed.
What if my co-author's name appears in the metadata instead of mine?: The tool clears whichever name is stored in the author and last-modified-by fields, regardless of whose name it is. Both fields are removed, leaving the property blank.
Does this also remove metadata added by reference management software like Zotero or Mendeley?: The tool removes core DOCX property fields. Metadata injected into the document body by reference managers as field codes is part of the document content and is not affected. Custom document properties added by third-party plugins may also not be cleared.

Create your free Deliteful account with Google and submit your next manuscript without leaving your name in the file properties.