Does removing metadata reduce photo quality?
No. The compressed image data is copied exactly; only the metadata blocks are left out. A screenshot or a re-save in an editor would re-compress the picture, which is why this route is better.
Free · runs in your browser
Remove metadata from a photo, keep every pixel
Strip the location, camera, dates and editing history from a JPEG, PNG, WebP or HEIC image. The picture data is copied as it is, so nothing is lost.
To remove metadata from a photo, open it here, press Remove all metadata and then Download new file. The copy you get has no GPS position, no camera make or model, no capture date, no maker notes and no XMP or IPTC record, and its image data is byte for byte the same as before.
Before you clean anything, the Privacy section lists what the photo gives away, each item rated High, Medium or Low. If all you want gone is the location, press Remove location only instead: the date and camera details stay, which is handy for your own archive. Either way the file is read and rewritten in your browser and is never uploaded.
This works on one photo at a time and does not change what is visible in the picture. A face, a house number or a reflection is still there after the metadata has gone. If you are tidying up videos too, the video metadata remover works the same way.
How to remove EXIF data from a photo
Open the photo
Drop the image on Drop a video or photo here, press Open a file (Ctrl/Cmd+O), or paste it (Ctrl/Cmd+V). JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC/HEIF and AVIF can be cleaned.
See what it reveals
Open Privacy to see “What this file reveals”: exact location, serial numbers or owner names, date and time, device model and editing software, each rated High, Medium or Low.
Choose what to remove
Press Remove all metadata for a clean file, or Remove location only to keep the date and camera. On a phone, the same choices are behind the Edit & clean button.
Decide on the colour profile
Leave Keep colour profile on so colours look the same afterwards. Turn it off only if you want the profile gone too.
Download and check
Press Download new file (Ctrl/Cmd+S). What changed lists everything removed, read back from the new file; Inspect new file opens it for a second look.
What is removed, and what is not
| In the photo | Remove all metadata | Remove location only |
|---|---|---|
| GPS position, altitude, direction | Removed | Removed |
| Place names in XMP or IPTC (city, country) | Removed | Removed |
| Camera make, model, lens, serial numbers | Removed | Kept |
| Capture and edit dates | Removed | Kept |
| Exposure settings, maker notes | Removed | Kept |
| Title, artist, copyright, keywords | Removed | Kept |
| Editing history (XMP), Content Credentials | Removed | Kept |
| Colour profile (ICC) | Kept unless Keep colour profile is off | Kept |
| The image itself | Untouched | Untouched |
What no metadata remover can do
- Visible details. Faces, number plates, landmarks, a street sign through the window, a screen in the background: all of that is in the pixels and stays.
- Invisible watermarks. Some AI image tools and stock libraries hide a mark inside the pixels themselves. Removing metadata does not touch it, and this tool cannot detect it.
- Copies already shared. Cleaning your file does nothing to a version you posted or sent earlier.
- The file’s name and the dates your computer shows. A name like
IMG_4821.HEIChints at the device; rename the download if that matters. Created and modified dates are kept by your file system, not the photo.
How each format is cleaned without loss
A photo file is a set of labelled blocks: one or more for metadata and one for the compressed picture. Cleaning means writing a new file that leaves out the metadata blocks and copies the picture block unchanged. There is no decoding and no re-compression, so the quality is identical and the result is usually a few kilobytes smaller.
| Format | Where the metadata sits | What the cleaner does |
|---|---|---|
| JPEG | APP1 (EXIF, XMP), APP13 (IPTC), APP11 (Content Credentials) segments | Drops those segments; the compressed scan data is copied as is |
| PNG | eXIf, tEXt, iTXt, zTXt and tIME chunks | Drops the chunks; the image chunks are copied as is |
| WebP | EXIF and XMP chunks in the RIFF container | Drops the chunks and fixes the header |
| HEIC / HEIF, AVIF | Exif and XMP items inside the file’s item list | Overwrites those items with blanks in place, so the structure stays valid |
HEIC is cleaned rather than edited: the location and the other fields are blanked, but you cannot type a new title or date into a HEIC here. If you need to edit the fields of an iPhone photo, export it as JPEG first; to change only when or where it was taken in your library, the iPhone location guide covers the built-in tools.
Some cameras store the picture sideways and rely on the EXIF Orientation tag to show it upright. Removing all metadata removes that tag, so a few photos, mostly JPEGs from older cameras, may then appear rotated. Check the preview with Inspect new file; if it is sideways, set Orientation in Edit & clean and download again.
Why the colour profile is kept
Recent phones shoot in a wide colour space (Display P3 on iPhones) and record that in an ICC profile. Without it, many apps assume the narrower sRGB and the photo looks flatter. The profile says nothing about you or your device in most cases, so it is kept by default. Turn off Keep colour profile if you want the smallest possible file or are sure the image is sRGB.
Other ways to remove EXIF data
You may already have a way to drop some metadata on your phone or computer. Most of them remove the location only, or only the fields their own Properties screen knows about.
iPhone
In iOS 26, tap the Share button on a photo, tap Options, turn off Location and share. Apple’s Personal Safety guide says Location Not Included then shows above the Options button. The camera model and date still travel with the file. Apple’s iOS 27 sharing page no longer lists that switch, so if you do not see it, remove the location from the photo itself first. The iPhone guide has the full steps.
Android
On a Samsung Galaxy phone (One UI 3.0 or later), select photos in Gallery, tap Share and tick Remove Location data. Google Photos says that, apart from partner sharing, albums, links and conversations you create do not include location details by default. Neither removes the camera model or dates. More detail is on the location remover page.
Windows
Right-click the file, choose Properties, open the Details tab and click Remove Properties and Personal Information. The default makes a copy with the properties Windows can change removed; Remove the following properties from this file lets you tick individual ones. It only touches fields Windows knows how to write, so maker notes and XMP can survive.
ExifTool
For many files at once, the command-line tool ExifTool removes everything it can delete:
exiftool -all= photo.jpg
It keeps a backup named photo.jpg_original unless you add -overwrite_original. Its documentation notes that colour space information is removed with everything else and that the JPEG Adobe segment is left in place by default. To keep the colour profile, add --icc_profile:all.
Everything, or just the location?
- Selling something online, posting to a forum, sending to a stranger: remove everything. The camera serial number and dates can link photos together even without a location.
- Sharing holiday photos with family, keeping an archive: remove the location only, so the photos still sort by date and show the camera they came from.
- Sending to a journalist, lawyer or insurer: keep the original untouched and send a cleaned copy only if you are asked to. Metadata is often what makes a photo useful as evidence.
- Not sure what is in it: open it in the EXIF viewer first, or check where it says it was taken.
Removing photo metadata: questions
Do Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp remove metadata anyway?
Many platforms strip EXIF from what other people see, but most do not say so in their help pages, and they can still read it when you upload. Cleaning the file yourself is the only way to be sure. See which apps remove metadata for how to test one.
Can removed metadata be recovered from the new file?
No. The blocks are not in the new file at all, and in HEIC they are overwritten with blanks. Your original still has everything, so keep it or delete it as you see fit.
Does it remove the AI label from an image?
It removes Content Credentials and XMP fields, which is where some AI tools record that an image was generated. It cannot remove watermarks hidden in the pixels, and platforms that check for those may still label the image.
Can I remove metadata from many photos at once?
Not here; it cleans one file at a time. For whole folders, ExifTool on a computer is the usual choice.
Is the photo uploaded?
No. It is read and rewritten in your browser and saved straight to your device. The new file is not sent anywhere unless you share it.
Why does my cleaned photo look rotated?
The camera stored it sideways and used the EXIF Orientation tag to turn it upright; removing all metadata removed that tag. Set Orientation in Edit & clean and download again.