How to Remove EXIF
Metadata from a Photo
See what's embedded — GPS, camera, timestamps — then strip it before sharing. Nothing leaves your device.
Open Image MetadataWhat your photos are actually telling people
Every JPEG your iPhone or Android takes carries 30-100 metadata fields. The most concerning: GPS coordinates accurate to within a few meters, the exact second the photo was taken (in your local time zone, which reveals where you live), the camera's make/model/serial number, the focal length and ISO, and the iOS or Android version that captured it.
None of this is malicious — EXIF was designed in the 1990s for professional photo management. But in 2026, it's a privacy footgun for everyone who isn't a photographer. Removing it before sharing is one of the cheapest hygiene wins available.
Step-by-step: view and strip metadata
Open the Image Metadata tool
Visit the free Image Metadata viewer. It runs entirely in your browser using exifr.js to parse EXIF, IPTC, and XMP segments without uploading the file.
Drop in your photo
Drag a JPEG, HEIC, PNG, or TIFF onto the upload area. The tool reads the metadata segments and displays everything that's embedded — often more than you'd expect.
Review what's there
Common entries: GPS latitude/longitude, camera make/model/serial, lens model, exposure settings, timestamps (capture, modify, GPS), software used (Photoshop version, phone OS), and copyright/author fields.
Click 'Strip metadata' to save a clean copy
The tool re-encodes the pixel data without metadata segments. The image looks identical; only the embedded data is gone. The original file on your device is untouched — the clean copy downloads as a new file.
Pro tips for photo privacy
Stripping is destructive — keep the original if you need attribution
If you bought a stock photo or want to preserve copyright info, save the clean version with a different filename. Once metadata is gone you can't recover it from the cleaned file.
GPS data is the privacy emergency
Most phones embed GPS coordinates with sub-meter accuracy. Posting a photo of your living room to a public site reveals your home address. Strip GPS at minimum before sharing online.
Date/time fields can also leak
EXIF has at least three timestamps (DateTime, DateTimeOriginal, DateTimeDigitized). Even without GPS, these reveal when you were where — useful inference for anyone tracking your movements.
PNGs have less metadata but still some
PNG uses tEXt/iTXt chunks rather than EXIF. The viewer reads those too — common entries are software (e.g. 'Adobe Photoshop 2024') and copyright. PNGs from screenshots usually carry minimal metadata.
Photos with sensitive metadata never leave your device
It would be ironic to upload your home GPS coordinates to a metadata-stripping service. You don't. The tool reads and rewrites the image entirely in your browser tab.
Frequently asked questions
What is EXIF metadata?
EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a standard for embedding camera, lens, exposure, and location data inside image files. It was designed for photographers and image-management software, but it now lives inside almost every photo your phone takes — and travels with the file when you share it.
Why should I care about removing it?
GPS coordinates in a photo of your home reveal your address. Camera serial numbers can link multiple photos back to the same device. Timestamps can build a timeline of where you were. Stock-photo abusers strip authorship metadata; privacy-conscious users strip everything else. Either way, knowing what's in your files matters.
Will stripping metadata change the image quality?
No, if the format supports it. JPEG re-encoding uses quality 95+ which is visually lossless on inspection — most people can't tell the difference. PNG re-encoding is fully lossless. The only metric that changes is file size, which usually drops slightly because the metadata segments are gone.
What about social-media platforms — don't they strip metadata anyway?
Most do, but inconsistently. Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter strip EXIF on upload (mostly for privacy reasons). But forums, blogs, comment sections, file-sharing services, email attachments, and direct cloud links typically preserve metadata. If you're uploading anywhere outside the big social platforms, strip it yourself.
Can I remove metadata in bulk?
Yes — the Batch Image Processor handles multiple files at once. Drop a folder, enable 'Strip metadata', and process the whole batch. Great for cleaning up a library of phone photos before posting an album.
Is the photo uploaded to a server?
No. The viewer reads metadata locally with exifr.js; the stripper re-encodes locally with the canvas API. The file never leaves your device — and we have no way to log what's in your photos because we never receive them.