What metadata do photos actually contain?

A typical phone or camera photo carries an EXIF block with the device make and model, lens and exposure settings, the exact date and time of capture, and often GPS coordinates. Editing software can add XMP and IPTC records (creator, software used, edit history), and many JPGs embed a small preview thumbnail. None of it is visible in the picture, but anyone who downloads the file can read it.

Can someone really find my location from a photo?

If location services were on when you took it, yes — the EXIF GPS tags store latitude and longitude precise enough to identify a building. Large social networks usually strip this on upload, but files sent by email, cloud link, marketplace listing or your own website often keep the original metadata intact.

Does removing metadata change the image quality?

PNG input is re-exported as PNG, which is lossless. Everything else is re-encoded as JPG at 95% quality — not bit-identical to the original, but visually indistinguishable in normal use. The pixels are copied one-to-one; nothing is resized or cropped.

Why did the file size change?

Because the image is re-encoded rather than edited in place. Dropping metadata removes some bytes, while the fresh encoding may produce slightly larger or smaller image data than the original. Either direction is normal and doesn’t indicate a quality problem.

Will my photo come out sideways?

No. Modern browsers apply the EXIF orientation flag while decoding, so the rotation is baked into the pixels before the flag itself is discarded. The cleaned photo displays the right way up everywhere, even in software that ignores orientation flags.

Does it remove watermarks or visible timestamps?

No — this removes hidden metadata only. Anything drawn into the pixels, such as a date stamp in the corner or identifiable details in the background, is part of the image itself. Metadata removal is not redaction.

Is my photo uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is decoded, redrawn on a canvas and re-encoded entirely in your browser — it never leaves your device, and there is no server that could store or log it. You can even load this page, go offline, and then drop the photo.

EXIF Remover

Strip EXIF and location metadata from photos for privacy, locally in your browser.

Runs in your browser — files never leave your device

Drop a photo, or click to chooseMetadata stripped on your device

How it works

Every photo taken on a phone or camera carries a hidden block of EXIF metadata: the device make and model, exposure settings, the exact second the shutter fired and — if location services were on — GPS coordinates precise enough to point at a building. Editing tools add more: XMP and IPTC records, software names, sometimes an embedded preview thumbnail. A typical marketplace photo posted from home therefore reveals where you live to anyone who downloads it and opens the file’s properties.

This tool removes all of it by redrawing the image through a canvas in your browser. The file is decoded to raw pixels, painted onto a fresh canvas and exported as a brand-new file. Because only pixel data survives that round trip, the output contains no EXIF, GPS, XMP, IPTC or thumbnail data of any kind — nothing is selectively scrubbed, because nothing but the picture is written in the first place.

The output format follows the input: PNG stays PNG (lossless), and everything else is re-encoded as JPG at 95% quality, which is visually indistinguishable from the original in normal use. Browsers apply the EXIF orientation flag while decoding, so the rotation is baked into the pixels and the cleaned photo comes out the right way up.

Worth knowing before you rely on it:

The JPG re-encode is not bit-identical, so the file size can go up or down slightly — both are normal.
Embedded color profiles are dropped along with the rest. The output uses the standard sRGB space, so wide-gamut photos may shift very slightly on some displays.
Only hidden data is removed. Visible date stamps, watermarks and identifiable background details are pixels, not metadata — cropping or blurring is a separate job.

The whole process runs locally. The photo is never uploaded, so the original — location data and all — never exists anywhere but your device.

Frequently asked questions

What metadata do photos actually contain?: A typical phone or camera photo carries an EXIF block with the device make and model, lens and exposure settings, the exact date and time of capture, and often GPS coordinates. Editing software can add XMP and IPTC records (creator, software used, edit history), and many JPGs embed a small preview thumbnail. None of it is visible in the picture, but anyone who downloads the file can read it.
Can someone really find my location from a photo?: If location services were on when you took it, yes — the EXIF GPS tags store latitude and longitude precise enough to identify a building. Large social networks usually strip this on upload, but files sent by email, cloud link, marketplace listing or your own website often keep the original metadata intact.
Does removing metadata change the image quality?: PNG input is re-exported as PNG, which is lossless. Everything else is re-encoded as JPG at 95% quality — not bit-identical to the original, but visually indistinguishable in normal use. The pixels are copied one-to-one; nothing is resized or cropped.
Why did the file size change?: Because the image is re-encoded rather than edited in place. Dropping metadata removes some bytes, while the fresh encoding may produce slightly larger or smaller image data than the original. Either direction is normal and doesn’t indicate a quality problem.
Will my photo come out sideways?: No. Modern browsers apply the EXIF orientation flag while decoding, so the rotation is baked into the pixels before the flag itself is discarded. The cleaned photo displays the right way up everywhere, even in software that ignores orientation flags.
Does it remove watermarks or visible timestamps?: No — this removes hidden metadata only. Anything drawn into the pixels, such as a date stamp in the corner or identifiable details in the background, is part of the image itself. Metadata removal is not redaction.
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?: No. The file is decoded, redrawn on a canvas and re-encoded entirely in your browser — it never leaves your device, and there is no server that could store or log it. You can even load this page, go offline, and then drop the photo.

EXIF Remover

How it works

Frequently asked questions

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