Every photo from a phone or camera carries hidden data alongside the picture. It is called EXIF metadata, and it can include the exact GPS location where the photo was taken, the date and time, the phone or camera model, its serial number and the editing software used. Anyone who downloads the original file can read it.
Why remove it?
The location is the main reason. A photo of something you are selling, taken at home, can reveal your home address to a stranger. Photos of children, of a new house, or taken at a regular spot give away more than you might intend. Some social networks remove this data when you upload, but email, messaging apps sending as a file, marketplaces, forums and file-sharing links often pass it on untouched.
What exactly is removed?
All EXIF data, including GPS coordinates, date and time taken, camera make and model, lens, exposure settings and thumbnail previews. IPTC and XMP blocks, which can carry captions, author names and editing history, are removed too. The visible image stays the same.
The orientation tag is part of that data too. Before it is removed, the photo is turned upright, so it does not end up sideways.
Does it affect quality?
PNG images are rewritten losslessly. JPG and WebP are saved again at a high quality setting, which looks the same to the eye. File size usually drops by a few kilobytes.
Is it private?
Yes, and that matters for a privacy tool. On this page your photos are cleaned in your browser and never uploaded, so the files never leave your device. Free, without an account or daily cap, for images up to 50 MB.
Cleaning a whole album?
Drop several photos at once and download them as a ZIP; up to 5 at a time are free without an account. For larger sets, the Archive preset in the pipeline builder strips metadata from a whole folder and zips it; add a rename step so the file names stop giving away dates too. Larger runs need Pro or credits and are processed on our server.
How to remove metadata from photos
- Drop your photos onto the drop zone.
- Click Strip metadata.
- Download the cleaned photos.
FAQ
How can I check what metadata a photo has?
On Windows, right-click the file, choose Properties, then Details. On a Mac, open it in Preview and use Tools, Show Inspector.
Will the date the photo was taken be lost?
Yes. The date stored inside the file is removed. The file's own created date on your computer is separate.
Does it remove metadata from videos or PDFs?
No. This tool handles images: JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP and TIFF.
Does it remove colour profiles?
Colour profiles may be removed with the rest of the metadata. Most images are sRGB and look the same without one.