PURPOSE Documents can contain hidden metadata such as author name, comments, revision history, file paths, and hidden text. WHEN TO CLEAN METADATA Before external sharing, publishing, legal review, or sending sensitive documents. STEPS Use the document inspector, properties tool, or metadata removal feature in your application. Remove comments, tracked changes, hidden text, author details, and custom properties as needed. CHECK Save a cleaned copy and inspect it again before sending. CAUTION Exporting to PDF does not always remove all metadata.