How to remove your name and personal information from a PowerPoint file
Every PowerPoint file stores who created it, who saved it last and often the company name. Anyone who receives the file can see these in File, Info. To remove them on Windows, use File, Info, Check for Issues, Inspect Document, and remove Document Properties and Personal Information.
Windows: use the Document Inspector
- Save a copy of the deck first. Some removals cannot be undone.
- Go to File, Info, Check for Issues, Inspect Document.
- Keep Document Properties and Personal Information ticked and select Inspect.
- Next to Document Properties and Personal Information, select Remove All.
- Save the file.
Mac: remove it on save
- Open the PowerPoint menu, then Preferences, then Security & Privacy.
- Tick the option to remove personal information from this file on save.
- Save the file. The setting applies to this presentation.
What the manual way misses
- The Document Inspector removes everything in the category at once, so you cannot keep a title while removing the author.
- It does not tell you if the deck started life as another firm's or client's file. The company field and custom properties often give that away.
- Names can also sit in review comments, speaker notes and hidden slides, which are separate problems.