How to Use Microsoft Word Hidden Text for Sensitive Information

When drafting a report, you may occasionally need to write down sensitive notes, internal comments, or confidential figures directly inside the document. However, you do not want this sensitive information to be visible when you print the final version or share it with external clients.

Instead of manually deleting the sensitive paragraphs before printing (and risking losing that data permanently), you can use the Hidden Text feature in Microsoft Word. This formatting trick allows you to make specific text completely invisible on the screen and in print, while keeping the data safely embedded in the file for later use.

How to Hide Text in a Document

Hiding text is a simple formatting option, much like making text bold or italic.

1. Open your Microsoft Word document.
2. Use your mouse to highlight the specific word, sentence, or paragraph you wish to conceal.
3. Right-click the highlighted text and select Font… from the context menu (or press Ctrl + D on your keyboard).
4. A Font dialogue box will appear. Look in the “Effects” section near the middle of the window.
5. Check the box next to Hidden.
6. Click OK.

The text will immediately vanish from your screen. The surrounding paragraphs will automatically shift up to fill the empty space, making it look as though the hidden text never existed.

How to View Hidden Text

Because the text is invisible, you cannot click on it or highlight it normally. To reveal your secret notes while you are editing the document:

1. Click the Home tab in the top ribbon menu.
2. In the “Paragraph” section, click the Show/Hide ¶ button (the icon looks like a backwards ‘P’).

This button reveals all hidden formatting marks (like spaces and paragraph breaks), but it also instantly reveals all your hidden text. You will notice that hidden text is underlined with a faint, dotted black line, allowing you to clearly distinguish it from normal text.

To hide the text again, simply click the Show/Hide ¶ button a second time to toggle it off.

How to Unhide Text Permanently

If you want the text to become a normal, visible part of the document again:

1. Turn on the Show/Hide ¶ button so you can see the text.
2. Highlight the text with the dotted underline.
3. Right-click it and select Font… (or press Ctrl + D).
4. Uncheck the Hidden box in the Effects section.
5. Click OK.

Warning: Hidden Text is Not Secure

You must understand that the Hidden Text feature is a formatting tool, not a security tool. It is designed to prevent text from being printed or cluttering the screen.

If you email the Word document file (.docx) to a client, the hidden text is still inside the file. All the client has to do is click the Show/Hide ¶ button on their own computer to instantly read all your confidential notes. Never send a digital Word file containing sensitive hidden text to an external party. If you must send it digitally, save the document as a PDF first; the PDF will only render the visible text, permanently stripping away the hidden data.