What it reports
In a PDF: white, tiny and off-page text, invisible text, hidden layers, attached files, scripts, filled-in form fields, comments, and links that track clicks.
In Word: hidden and white text, deleted wording kept by tracked changes, comments.
In Excel: hidden and very hidden sheets, hidden rows and columns, comments, links to other workbooks.
In PowerPoint: speaker notes, hidden slides, comments.
In all Office files it also reports embedded files and macros.
What to do with the report
Use Remove metadata for names and dates, Redact PDF for things that must be unreadable, and the document’s own program to delete hidden sheets, notes or tracked changes.
A worked example
A consultant is about to send a pricing workbook. The scan finds a very hidden sheet named “Margins” and a link to a file on a colleague’s drive. Neither was visible in Excel.
Questions
- Does this change my file?
- No. It is a report. Nothing is written or downloaded.
- What counts as hidden text?
- Text coloured white, text smaller than you could read, text placed beyond the edge of the page, text formatted as hidden in Word, and text on a PDF layer that is switched off.
- It says my scan has an invisible text layer. Is that bad?
- Usually not. Scanners add recognised text behind the picture of the page so the document can be searched. It does mean the words can be copied, even where the picture is hard to read.
- What does it not find?
- Text hidden underneath a picture is not detected. Nor is anything a person would have to judge, such as a sentence that should not be there.
Your file stays on this device
The tool above runs in a sealed frame that cannot send your file anywhere. It works with airplane mode on, and the counter above it stays at 0. Here is how you can check that yourself.
Related tools
- Redact PDF Black out names, emails and numbers so they are gone for good.
- Remove metadata from a PDF Remove the author, software, dates and earlier versions from a PDF.
- Remove metadata from a Word document Remove author names, comments' authors, tracked-change names and template paths from Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.
- Remove metadata Strip location, device and hidden previews from photos and documents.
- Redact image Cover parts of a screenshot or photo with solid boxes.
- Encrypt or decrypt a file Lock any file with a passphrase before you send it, or open one you were sent.