diff --git a/src/Contracts/DataModels.ts b/src/Contracts/DataModels.ts
index dd8b0b471..6f73168f6 100644
--- a/src/Contracts/DataModels.ts
+++ b/src/Contracts/DataModels.ts
@@ -236,7 +236,6 @@ export interface DataMaskingPolicy {
     length: number;
   }>;
   excludedPaths: string[];
-  policyFormatVersion: number;
   isPolicyEnabled: boolean;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsComponent.test.tsx b/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsComponent.test.tsx
index 9d643d4e0..4421a5114 100644
--- a/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsComponent.test.tsx
+++ b/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsComponent.test.tsx
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ jest.mock("../../../Common/dataAccess/updateCollection", () => ({
     dataMaskingPolicy: {
       includedPaths: [],
       excludedPaths: ["/excludedPath"],
-      policyFormatVersion: 2,
       isPolicyEnabled: true,
     },
     indexes: [],
@@ -308,13 +307,11 @@ describe("SettingsComponent", () => {
       dataMaskingContent: {
         includedPaths: [],
         excludedPaths: ["/excludedPath"],
-        policyFormatVersion: 2,
         isPolicyEnabled: true,
       },
       dataMaskingContentBaseline: {
         includedPaths: [],
         excludedPaths: [],
-        policyFormatVersion: 2,
         isPolicyEnabled: false,
       },
       isDataMaskingDirty: true,
@@ -329,7 +326,6 @@ describe("SettingsComponent", () => {
     expect(wrapper.state("dataMaskingContentBaseline")).toEqual({
       includedPaths: [],
       excludedPaths: ["/excludedPath"],
-      policyFormatVersion: 2,
       isPolicyEnabled: true,
     });
   });
@@ -344,7 +340,6 @@ describe("SettingsComponent", () => {
     const invalidPolicy: InvalidPolicy = {
       includedPaths: "invalid",
       excludedPaths: [],
-      policyFormatVersion: 2,
       isPolicyEnabled: false,
     };
     // Use type assertion since we're deliberately testing with invalid data
@@ -354,7 +349,6 @@ describe("SettingsComponent", () => {
     expect(wrapper.state("dataMaskingContent")).toEqual({
       includedPaths: "invalid",
       excludedPaths: [],
-      policyFormatVersion: 2,
       isPolicyEnabled: false,
     });
     expect(wrapper.state("dataMaskingValidationErrors")).toEqual(["includedPaths must be an array"]);
@@ -370,7 +364,6 @@ describe("SettingsComponent", () => {
         },
       ],
       excludedPaths: ["/excludedPath"],
-      policyFormatVersion: 2,
       isPolicyEnabled: true,
     };
 
@@ -395,7 +388,6 @@ describe("SettingsComponent", () => {
         },
       ],
       excludedPaths: ["/excludedPath1"],
-      policyFormatVersion: 2,
       isPolicyEnabled: false,
     };
 
@@ -409,7 +401,6 @@ describe("SettingsComponent", () => {
         },
       ],
       excludedPaths: ["/excludedPath2"],
-      policyFormatVersion: 2,
       isPolicyEnabled: true,
     };
 
diff --git a/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsComponent.tsx b/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsComponent.tsx
index d010bd725..1185d190c 100644
--- a/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsComponent.tsx
+++ b/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsComponent.tsx
@@ -700,9 +700,6 @@ export class SettingsComponent extends React.Component<SettingsComponentProps, S
     if (!Array.isArray(newDataMasking.excludedPaths)) {
       validationErrors.push("excludedPaths must be an array");
     }
-    if (typeof newDataMasking.policyFormatVersion !== "number") {
-      validationErrors.push("policyFormatVersion must be a number");
-    }
     if (typeof newDataMasking.isPolicyEnabled !== "boolean") {
       validationErrors.push("isPolicyEnabled must be a boolean");
     }
@@ -845,7 +842,6 @@ export class SettingsComponent extends React.Component<SettingsComponentProps, S
     const dataMaskingContent: DataModels.DataMaskingPolicy = {
       includedPaths: this.collection.dataMaskingPolicy?.()?.includedPaths || [],
       excludedPaths: this.collection.dataMaskingPolicy?.()?.excludedPaths || [],
-      policyFormatVersion: this.collection.dataMaskingPolicy?.()?.policyFormatVersion || 2,
       isPolicyEnabled: this.collection.dataMaskingPolicy?.()?.isPolicyEnabled || false,
     };
     const conflictResolutionPolicy: DataModels.ConflictResolutionPolicy =
diff --git a/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsSubComponents/DataMaskingComponent.test.tsx b/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsSubComponents/DataMaskingComponent.test.tsx
index 4847df7ea..a51d55a32 100644
--- a/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsSubComponents/DataMaskingComponent.test.tsx
+++ b/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsSubComponents/DataMaskingComponent.test.tsx
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ describe("DataMaskingComponent", () => {
       },
     ],
     excludedPaths: [],
-    policyFormatVersion: 2,
     isPolicyEnabled: false,
   };
 
@@ -175,7 +174,6 @@ describe("DataMaskingComponent", () => {
     const invalidPolicy: Record<string, unknown> = {
       includedPaths: "not an array",
       excludedPaths: [] as string[],
-      policyFormatVersion: "not a number",
       isPolicyEnabled: "not a boolean",
     };
 
diff --git a/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsSubComponents/DataMaskingComponent.tsx b/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsSubComponents/DataMaskingComponent.tsx
index 87f6ff854..2f35c572e 100644
--- a/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsSubComponents/DataMaskingComponent.tsx
+++ b/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/SettingsSubComponents/DataMaskingComponent.tsx
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ const emptyDataMaskingPolicy: DataModels.DataMaskingPolicy = {
     },
   ],
   excludedPaths: [],
-  policyFormatVersion: 2,
   isPolicyEnabled: false,
 };
 
diff --git a/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/TestUtils.tsx b/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/TestUtils.tsx
index 5cc09bb8d..f30e84709 100644
--- a/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/TestUtils.tsx
+++ b/src/Explorer/Controls/Settings/TestUtils.tsx
@@ -68,7 +68,6 @@ export const collection = {
   dataMaskingPolicy: ko.observable<DataModels.DataMaskingPolicy>({
     includedPaths: [],
     excludedPaths: ["/excludedPath"],
-    policyFormatVersion: 2,
     isPolicyEnabled: true,
   }),
   readSettings: () => {
diff --git a/src/Explorer/Tree/Collection.ts b/src/Explorer/Tree/Collection.ts
index adbc24cce..d6df438bf 100644
--- a/src/Explorer/Tree/Collection.ts
+++ b/src/Explorer/Tree/Collection.ts
@@ -141,7 +141,6 @@ export default class Collection implements ViewModels.Collection {
     const defaultDataMaskingPolicy: DataModels.DataMaskingPolicy = {
       includedPaths: Array<{ path: string; strategy: string; startPosition: number; length: number }>(),
       excludedPaths: Array<string>(),
-      policyFormatVersion: 2,
       isPolicyEnabled: false,
     };
     const observablePolicy = ko.observable(data.dataMaskingPolicy || defaultDataMaskingPolicy);