Since document metadata is hidden and easily forgotten, it is frequently disregarded as a privacy issue.
If metadata isn’t erased every email attachment and shared file could reveal very sensitive and potentially harmful information, constituting a data breach punishable by international laws like the GDPR.
To effectively manage metadata, it is crucial to comprehend what it is.
1. Document properties
A person’s identity can be revealed by the identities of authors, contributors, businesses, and computers, which is considered a data breach. The author data may belong to someone who left the company long ago if the shared document is built on an outdated template, which signals that the material isn’t being updated frequently.
The first and last name of the document author make up this metadata. According to international data protection laws like the GDPR, this information is considered personal information and can result in fines of up to 4% of global turnover if it is disclosed.
2. Custom defined fields
Email addresses and phone numbers are two examples of particularly sensitive information that might be contained in custom defined fields. The most frequent sorts of data utilized in cybercrimes are highly personal data including names, addresses, and financial information.
3. Track Changes and Comments
Information or comments never intended to be made public typically appear in the Track Changes and Comments of the document. If the document is still in the collaborative or review stage, cleaning metadata does not necessarily require deleting all Comments and Track Changes. Scrub the leftover metadata on send when it’s time to publish and finish the document.
4. Embedded objects
By just double-clicking, embedded items, such as a piece of an Excel spreadsheet, can be made visible. In spite of the sender’s best efforts to conceal cells or columns, it is still relatively simple to find the data. When sending a file containing one person’s information, remove any hidden items to prevent accidentally giving that person access to someone else’s as well.
