Do you know what information you’re really sharing when sending a file outside your organization? Every Microsoft Office file contains inbuilt metadata that can tell a reader much more than the sender intended. Metadata can be a hidden compliance risk with data protection regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the UK, and the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme in Australia.

The first step toward metadata management is understanding what metadata is and learning how to clean metadata and send secure email. Metadata management means changing email behavior, so employees remember to clean metadata before they click Send. Read the infographic below to learn about the different types of metadata and the risks they pose.

Send secure emails by removing metadata before it causes a data breach

Adding metadata management to your email sending process doesn’t have to mean it gets slower or less efficient. Taking a few moments to scrub inbuilt document properties like author tracking data, hidden text, Track Changes, embedded and linked objects can eliminate the risk of a metadata-related data breach.

The most effective way of cleaning metadata is with an email add-in that prompts users to scrub attachments of metadata before they click Send. Metadata cleaners can remove more than 100 metadata types from Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and PDF/A documents with no email downtime for users.

Metadata management can keep organizations the peace of mind that comes with knowing every email only contains the information the sender intended it to. Keep data secure and stay compliant with laws and regulations whilst avoiding reputational damages or costly mandatory breach notifications.