Photo Metadata Viewer

Remove Photo Metadata (EXIF Data) for Privacy

Your photos contain hidden data that can reveal your location, device, and habits. Learn why and how to strip EXIF metadata before sharing photos online.

Strip Metadata Instantly — Free & Private

Our metadata viewer includes a built-in metadata stripper. Upload your photo, then click "Strip Metadata & Download" to get a clean copy with all EXIF data removed. Everything happens in your browser — your photo is never uploaded to any server.

Open Metadata Viewer & Remover

Why Remove EXIF Data From Photos?

Location privacy.GPS coordinates in your photos can reveal your home address, workplace, children's school, and daily routines. A single photo posted online can expose where you live.
Prevent stalking & harassment. Detailed timestamps combined with GPS data create a map of your movements. Harassers and stalkers can use this information to track patterns.
Device fingerprinting. Camera serial numbers and unique image IDs can be used to link photos across different platforms back to the same person, even if posted under different usernames.
Professional requirements. Journalists, whistleblowers, and activists often need to share photos without revealing the source device or location for safety reasons.

How to Remove Metadata on Every Platform

iPhone / iPad (iOS)

iOS does not have a built-in metadata removal tool, but you have several options:

  1. Before sharing:Open the photo, tap Share, then tap "Options" at the top. Toggle off "Location" to strip GPS data from the shared copy.
  2. Shortcuts app:Create a shortcut that strips EXIF: use the "Convert Image" action (which removes metadata) followed by "Save to Photo Album."
  3. Use our web tool: Open Photo Metadata Viewer in Safari, upload your photo, and download the stripped version.

To prevent GPS data from being saved in the first place: Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Camera > Never.

Android

Android offers built-in options plus third-party tools:

  1. Google Photos:Open the photo, tap the three-dot menu > "Edit" > save a copy. The copy typically has reduced metadata. For full removal, use a dedicated tool.
  2. Before sharing:In Google Photos, when sharing via link, go to sharing settings and toggle off "Include location information."
  3. Use our web tool: Open Photo Metadata Viewer in Chrome, upload your photo, and download the stripped version.

To stop saving GPS: Open Camera app > Settings > toggle off "Store location" or "Geo tag photos."

Windows

Windows has built-in metadata removal in File Explorer:

  1. Right-click the photo file and select "Properties."
  2. Go to the "Details" tab.
  3. Click "Remove Properties and Personal Information" at the bottom.
  4. Choose "Create a copy with all possible properties removed" or select specific fields to remove.
  5. Click OK.

This works for JPEG, TIFF, and some other formats. For batch processing, use our web tool or a command-line tool like ExifTool.

Mac (macOS)

macOS does not have a one-click metadata remover in Finder, but you have options:

  1. Preview app:Open the photo in Preview, go to Tools > Show Inspector (Cmd+I). You can view metadata but cannot remove it from Preview directly.
  2. Photos app:Select the photo, go to Image > Location > Remove Location. This removes GPS only.
  3. Terminal (ExifTool): Install via brew install exiftool, then run exiftool -all= photo.jpg to strip all metadata.
  4. Use our web tool: Open Photo Metadata Viewer in your browser for a no-install solution.

What Does Our Tool Remove?

When you use the "Strip Metadata & Download" button on our metadata viewer, the photo is redrawn on a clean HTML5 canvas element. This process removes:

  • GPS coordinates and location data
  • Camera make, model, and serial number
  • All camera settings (aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc.)
  • Date and time information
  • Software and editing history
  • Embedded thumbnails
  • IPTC and XMP metadata
  • Any other embedded data

The result is a clean JPEG file that contains only pixel data — no hidden information of any kind.

Related Guides

Photo Privacy Guide

Full guide to what information your photos reveal and how to share safely.

What Is EXIF Data?

Learn what EXIF data is and what information is stored in your photos.

GPS Data in Photos

How location tracking works in photos and how to disable it.

Camera Settings Guide

Understand the camera settings data captured in your photo EXIF.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does removing metadata reduce image quality?

Our tool re-encodes the image at 95% JPEG quality, which is visually lossless for most purposes. There may be a tiny quality loss from the re-encoding, but it is imperceptible to the human eye. The Windows built-in method preserves the original quality since it only removes the metadata bytes without re-encoding.

Can I remove metadata from multiple photos at once?

Yes. Our metadata viewer supports batch processing. Upload multiple photos, then click "Strip All & Download ZIP" to get all cleaned photos in a single ZIP file.

Is the metadata permanently removed?

Yes. When you download the stripped photo, it is a completely new file with no EXIF data. The original file on your device is unchanged — we create a new clean copy. There is no way to recover the stripped metadata from the clean file.

Are my photos uploaded to a server?

No. All processing happens entirely in your web browser using JavaScript. Your photos never leave your device. We cannot see, access, or store your images. This makes our tool safe for sensitive photos.