Input
- A dedicated APP1 EXIF block with sample camera, date, software, comment, and GPS data
- A separate APP13 rights record and an ICC APP2 segment
- A fixed entropy-coded JPEG scan with recorded dimensions and hash
Free browser-local tool
Remove EXIF data from photos
EXIF can store where and when a photo was captured, which camera or lens made it, the software that edited it, and technical settings that are unnecessary for public sharing. This browser-local tool reads supported EXIF structures in JPG, PNG, and WebP files, shows recognized categories, and applies a fixed EXIF privacy preset to supported GPS, device, timestamp, software, comment, and user-identifying data. The default preset keeps recognized author, copyright, license, attribution, and rights-holder information. Every cleanup mode preserves orientation, ICC color, transparency, animation, dimensions, and the encoded image payload, so the report says pixels were not re-encoded. It cannot erase information already published, visible scene details, sidecar files, or pixel watermarks.
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We’ll check for metadata, Content Credentials and supported hidden markers before you choose how to clean it.
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JPG, PNG and WebP · up to 20 files · 25MB per file
JPG, PNG and WebP · Only upload files you own or are authorized to edit
Supported removal types
Supported EXIF privacy fields
EXIF is a family of TIFF-style directories rather than one universal privacy switch. The scan can recognize supported GPS references, camera and lens details, device information, capture and digitization times, editing software, user comments, image descriptions, and capture settings. The EXIF privacy preset applies its documented category rules as one operation; it is not a field-by-field editor.
Orientation is treated as rendering-critical, not private. Recognized artist and copyright data is treated as rights information. The default cleaner keeps both groups while removing only supported EXIF privacy data it can separate safely. XMP, IPTC, C2PA, PNG text, and WebP-specific metadata are separate categories and are not silently swept into an EXIF-only action.
- Supported GPS latitude, longitude, altitude, direction, and related location references
- Camera, lens, serial-like device, owner-name, and software fields
- Original, digitized, and modification dates and supported private comments
- Supported capture parameters included by the EXIF privacy preset
How it works
How the EXIF privacy preset works
All inspection and rebuilding for the free tool takes place on the device in the active browser tab.
- 01
Select a supported photo and review its validated format, dimensions, and EXIF scan.
- 02
Review the GPS, device, time, software, capture, and rights categories so you know which supported data is present.
- 03
Run the fixed EXIF privacy preset, or explicitly confirm Full Metadata Reset if you have permission to remove recognized rights and provenance data as well.
- 04
Rebuild the supported metadata container around the original compressed scan or image-chunk payload.
- 05
Review the output report, confirm that the intended entries are gone and preserved entries remain, then download the cleaned file.
Metadata vs pixels
EXIF directories sit outside the compressed picture
In a JPEG, EXIF commonly resides in an APP1 segment before the entropy-coded scan. PNG and WebP can carry EXIF in format-specific chunks. The implemented cleaner changes supported metadata structures without decoding or re-encoding the compressed media bytes.
This does not remove a date visibly printed on the photograph, a logo drawn into the scene, or a frequency pattern embedded in pixels. Those are visual or pixel-level content. It also does not remove an XMP copy of the same value; the broader image-metadata preset handles its own supported container blocks.
What is preserved
Orientation, color, animation, and rights stay protected
The EXIF preset and Full Metadata Reset preserve the original encoded image payload, dimensions, ICC profile, transparency, and PNG or WebP animation data. They also keep orientation so compatible viewers continue to display the same rotation. Pixel-bearing data is never sent through an image encoder.
Recognized artist, copyright, license, attribution, and rights-holder information is retained by the default preset. If private and protected information cannot be separated safely, the default leaves the containing block unchanged and reports the limitation. Full Metadata Reset may remove a recognized rights or provenance block only after explicit permission confirmation; it still preserves technical image data.
Limitations
What an EXIF clean cannot cover
A photo may repeat the same information in XMP, IPTC, a filename, a sidecar document, embedded thumbnail, private maker-note block, or a service database. Proprietary, malformed, truncated, or otherwise unsupported blocks are preserved rather than guessed at by the default preset.
The result is not a guarantee of anonymity. Faces, landmarks, reflections, documents, and other visible details can reveal far more than EXIF. Never clean official documents, legal evidence, financial records, certificates, or third-party images to hide their origin or facilitate deception.
Reproducible example
Test-fixture example: a JPEG EXIF-preset clean
A synthetic JPEG fixture uses a small generated pattern and dedicated metadata segments so the preset and retained image bytes can be checked without private user content.
Change
- The supported privacy-only EXIF block is omitted by the route preset.
- The rights record, ICC profile, and compressed scan are copied into the result.
Verification
- A second bounds-checked scan opens the rebuilt container and no longer finds the fixture's EXIF privacy block.
- The JPEG dimensions and compressed-scan hash match the input fixture, confirming no pixel re-encoding.
- The report lists the supported EXIF block as removed and the rights and technical records as preserved.
FAQ
Questions about this tool
Will removing EXIF rotate my photo?
No. The default preset and Full Metadata Reset both keep orientation and do not re-encode the pixel payload. Unsupported files are rejected rather than returned with an intentional orientation change.
Does this remove GPS from every metadata format?
It removes supported EXIF GPS entries. A broader image-metadata scan can reveal recognized copies in XMP, IPTC, or other supported containers.
Why are maker notes sometimes preserved?
Camera makers use proprietary structures. Changing an unknown maker-note block could corrupt data or remove unrelated information, so the default preset reports and retains unsupported blocks.
Does lossless mean the file bytes are identical?
No. Metadata directories, offsets, and container lengths change. Lossless here means the supported encoded image payload is copied without pixel decoding and re-encoding; the report states that distinction.
Related tools and guides
Continue with a verified path
Ownership notice
Process only photos you own or are authorized to edit. EXIF removal must not be used to falsify evidence, alter official material, misstate authorship, or interfere with another person's rights.