What hidden data is in a photo?
Every photo file has two parts: the picture itself, and a set of labelled notes about it, called metadata. Phones and cameras write these notes automatically. The most common format is EXIF, but photos can also carry XMP (used by Lightroom, Photoshop and phone gallery apps), IPTC (captions and copyright for press photos) and plain text comments.
| Metadata | What it can reveal | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| GPS latitude and longitude | Where the photo was taken, often within a few metres: your home, school or office | Phone camera with location turned on |
| Date and time | When you were there, to the second | Every camera |
| Camera make, model and serial number | Which device took it; serial numbers can link photos to one owner | Cameras and some phones |
| Software and editing history | Which apps edited it, sometimes original file names | Editing apps (XMP) |
| Author, owner and copyright | Your name, if you set it in the camera or app | Camera settings, Lightroom, Photoshop |
| Embedded thumbnail | A small preview that may still show a part you cropped out | Cameras and older editors |
The Before panel above shows what was found in each of your photos, and highlights GPS and personal details. The After panel shows what is left in the clean copy.
How the tool removes metadata without losing quality
Most “metadata removers” open the photo, draw it on a canvas and save a new copy. That works, but it re-compresses the image, so a JPG loses a little quality every time.
This tool does it differently. Image files are built from labelled blocks, a bit like boxes in a parcel:
- A JPG is a series of segments. Metadata lives in “APP” segments (EXIF and XMP in APP1, IPTC in APP13) and comment segments. The tool skips those segments and copies the compressed picture data exactly as it was.
- A PNG is a list of chunks. Text (
tEXt,iTXt,zTXt), EXIF (eXIf) and time (tIME) chunks are dropped; image chunks are copied with their checksums untouched. - A WebP is a RIFF container. The
EXIFandXMPchunks are removed, the header flags are switched off and the file size field is corrected. - A GIF can hold comments and XMP blocks between its frames. These are removed and animations keep working.
Because the picture data is never decoded, the clean file looks pixel-for-pixel identical and is slightly smaller.
Example: a 3.4 MB iPhone photo saved as JPG might contain a 12 KB EXIF block (with GPS), a 3 KB XMP block and a 0.5 KB colour profile. The clean copy is about 3.385 MB, with exactly the same pixels, and the GPS location is gone.
HEIC and AVIF files store metadata in a more complicated structure, so for those the tool decodes the photo in your browser and saves a fresh JPG (or PNG if the photo has transparency). That copy is re-compressed at high quality and contains no metadata at all. To convert iPhone photos in bulk with more control, use HEIC to JPG.
The two options
Keep rotation. Phones often store a photo sideways and add an EXIF Orientation tag that tells apps to turn it upright. Remove that tag and the photo can appear sideways. With this option on, the tool writes back a tiny EXIF block containing only the orientation number (1 to 8), nothing else.
Keep colour profile. An ICC profile describes the colour space, such as sRGB or the wider Display P3 used by recent iPhones. It contains no personal details. Removing it can make colours look duller in some apps, so keep it unless you have a reason not to.
When to remove metadata
- Selling online. Photos of items taken at home can reveal your address through GPS.
- Sharing files directly. Email attachments, cloud links, AirDrop and “send as file” in chat apps usually keep the original metadata. Social networks such as Facebook and Instagram strip most of it from published photos, but the copy you send by email does not get the same treatment.
- Publishing on your own website or blog. Your site serves the exact file you upload.
- Sending documents. Scans of IDs or letters taken with a phone can carry location and device details.
You can stop your phone adding GPS in the first place: on iPhone, go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera and choose Never; on Android, open the Camera app settings and turn off location tags.
After cleaning
The clean photos keep their original file type. If you are uploading them to a site with a size limit, run them through the image compressor next, or resize them first. Everything on this page runs inside your browser, so your photos are never uploaded.