Disable Track Changes before you open or edit a document
Track Changes in Microsoft Word records every edit you make — who made it, when, and what changed. If you do not want Word logging your edits, you turn it off in the Review tab before you start working. The setting stays off until you turn it back on, so you only need to do this once per document or once per session depending on your preference.
Open your document in Word. Go to the Review tab at the top of the window. Look for the button labeled Track Changes — it usually shows a circle with a checkmark or a pen icon. Click it once. The button will no longer be highlighted or pressed, which means tracking is now off. Any edits you make from this point forward will not be recorded.
If you are working on a document where Track Changes is already on (you will see red underlines or margin comments showing previous edits), turning it off stops Word from logging your new changes. It does not erase the changes that were already tracked — those remain visible until someone accepts or rejects them.
Key Takeaways
- Track Changes is turned off through the Review tab, and the setting applies to your current work session or document depending on how Word is configured on your device.
- Turning off Track Changes stops Word from recording new edits, but does not delete edits that were already tracked by previous users.
- If you share a document with others, they can still turn Track Changes back on, so disabling it on your end does not prevent tracking by collaborators.
- Word on Mac, Windows, and the web version all have Track Changes in the Review tab, though the exact button location varies slightly.
What happens to existing tracked changes when you turn off tracking
Turning off Track Changes does not remove edits that were already recorded. If you open a document where someone else (or you, in a previous session) already turned on tracking, you will see those changes marked in the document — usually as red text, strikethrough, or comments in the margin. Those edits stay visible and marked as tracked until someone explicitly accepts or rejects them.
If you want to hide those existing tracked changes from view while you work, you can do that separately. In the Review tab, find the Display for Review dropdown (it may say "All Markup" or "Final: Show Markup"). Click it and select Final to see the document as if all changes were accepted, or Original to see it as if all changes were rejected. This is a display-only change — the tracked edits are still there in the file, just hidden from your view.
Turning off Track Changes in Word on Mac
The process is nearly identical on Mac. Open your document and click the Review tab in the ribbon at the top. Find Track Changes and click it. The button will become unselected, and tracking stops.
On some older versions of Word for Mac, the Review tab may be labeled differently or the Track Changes button may be in a slightly different location. If you cannot find it in the Review tab, try the Tools menu at the top of the screen and look for "Track Changes" there. The principle is the same: you are toggling the feature on or off.
Turning off Track Changes in Word Online
Word Online (the browser version you access through Microsoft 365 or Office.com) also has Track Changes, and it works the same way. Open your document, go to the Review tab, and click Track Changes to turn it off. The button will appear unselected when tracking is off.
One difference with Word Online: if you are sharing the document with others in real time, they may see your edits differently depending on their own tracking settings. Turning off tracking on your end does not prevent them from turning it on for their own view of the document.
Why someone might turn Track Changes back on after you turn it off
If you share a document with collaborators, they can turn Track Changes back on at any time on their own copy or in a shared document. This is useful if they want to see what you changed, but it also means your edits will be logged from that point forward — even if you had turned tracking off.
If you are concerned about your edits being tracked by others, the real solution is not to turn off tracking on your end (which they can undo), but to understand who has access to the document and what permissions they have. If the document is shared through OneDrive, SharePoint, or a shared folder, anyone with edit access can turn tracking on. If you want to prevent that, you would need to restrict edit permissions or use a different sharing method.
Accepting or rejecting tracked changes before sharing
If you receive a document with tracked changes already in it and you want to clean it up before you start working, you can accept or reject all the existing changes at once. Go to the Review tab and look for Accept or Reject buttons. Click the small arrow next to either button and select Accept All Changes or Reject All Changes.
This removes all the tracked edits from the document and finalizes the text as either the edited version (if you accept) or the original version (if you reject). After you do this, the document will show no tracked changes, and you can turn off Track Changes before you make your own edits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does turning off Track Changes hide changes that are already in the document?
No. Turning off Track Changes stops Word from recording new edits, but it does not hide or delete changes that were already tracked. You can hide them from view by using the Display for Review dropdown, but they remain in the file until someone accepts or rejects them.
If I turn off Track Changes, can someone else turn it back on?
Yes. If you share the document with others, they can turn Track Changes back on at any time. Turning it off on your end does not lock the setting. If you want to prevent tracking, you need to restrict who can edit the document or use a different sharing method.
What is the difference between turning off Track Changes and accepting all changes?
Turning off Track Changes stops Word from logging new edits going forward. Accepting all changes finalizes the existing tracked edits and removes them from the document. You would accept changes to clean up a document before you start working on it.
Does Word Online Track Changes work the same way as the desktop version?
Yes, the basic process is identical — go to Review and click Track Changes to turn it off. However, in shared documents, other users can turn it back on independently, and you may see their edits logged even if you have tracking off on your end.
Can I turn off Track Changes for just one section of a document?
No. Track Changes is an all-or-nothing setting for the entire document. When it is on, all edits are tracked. When it is off, no edits are tracked. You cannot selectively track changes in one part of a document and not another.