1. What cleaning means
Privacy Cleaner modifies a copy of your file. The current stable workflow removes supported basic metadata only. It does not guarantee anonymity, complete sanitization, legal compliance or fitness for a recipient's rules.
2. Required safe workflow
- Keep the unmodified original in a separate location.
- Review every reported category and any limitations for the file type.
- Create the cleaned copy and keep its local verification report.
- Open the copy in Word, PowerPoint, Excel or a trusted PDF reader.
- Review visible text, images, file name, comments, revisions, links, macros and embedded objects.
- Confirm the recipient's submission or disclosure requirements before sharing.
3. Signatures and complex files
The stable release attempts to detect and block cleaning for digital signatures, Office macros, PDF forms, embedded PDF files, PDF JavaScript and XFA content. Detection cannot cover every proprietary structure. Rewriting may still change timestamps, affect unsupported extensions or expose defects in a malformed source file. Do not clean the only copy of a signed, evidentiary or irreplaceable file.
4. Features intentionally not automated
The current stable workflow reports but does not automatically delete comments, accept tracked revisions, remove hidden text, remove PDF annotations or delete external relationships. Those actions can alter visible meaning, review history, linked resources or file behavior.
5. Output validation
For Office files, the app reopens the output, verifies the essential package part and confirms that unrelated package parts remain byte-identical. For PDFs, it reopens the output and checks the page count. It then rescans supported metadata. These checks reduce risk but do not prove visual fidelity, semantic equivalence, anonymity or recipient acceptance.
6. High-consequence use
Do not use the software or its report as the sole control for legal privilege, regulatory disclosure, health information, financial records, immigration evidence, court evidence, safety systems or any decision where an error could cause serious harm. Obtain qualified review appropriate to the use case.