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The Photos app shows the essentials with one swipe. For the codec, HDR format, bitrate and every hidden tag, open the file in Safari.
To check the metadata of a video or photo on iPhone, open it in the Photos app and swipe up, or tap the Info button. The panel shows the device that recorded it, camera details such as the lens, shutter speed and file size, a map if a location was saved, and a caption you can type.
That covers what most people want to know, and it works the same for photos and videos. What it leaves out matters when a clip will not play, looks wrong after upload, or you need to know exactly what you are sharing: the codec, the HDR format, the bitrate, the time zone and the dozens of tags Apple writes behind the scenes.
For those, you can open the same file in Safari with metadata.video, which reads it on your iPhone without uploading it and explains every field. This guide covers the built-in route first, then what the full view adds.
Open Photos and tap the photo or video you want to check.
Swipe up on it, or tap the Info button. The panel slides up under the picture.
You will see the date and time, the device, camera details such as lens and shutter speed, the file size and, for videos, figures such as the resolution and frame rate. A map appears when the item has a location.
Swipe down, or tap the Info button again, to go back to the picture.
Apple keeps the Info panel short on purpose. Here is how it compares with a full read of the same iPhone video.
| Detail | Photos Info panel | metadata.video |
|---|---|---|
| Date and time recorded | Yes | Yes, with the time zone and every other date in the file |
| Device and lens | Yes | Yes, plus the iOS version that recorded it |
| Location | Map | Map, coordinates, altitude and accuracy |
| Resolution and frame rate | Usually, for videos | Yes, plus coded vs displayed size and variable frame rate detection |
| File size | Yes | Yes |
| Codec (HEVC or H.264), profile, bit depth | No | Yes, with a “Plays on” row |
| HDR format (Dolby Vision, HLG) | No | Yes, with profile and level |
| Bitrate | No | Yes, over time as a graph |
| Audio format and channels | No | Yes |
| Hidden tags, Content Credentials | No | Yes, in Report and Provenance |
If the video is saved in Files rather than Photos, touch and hold it and choose Get Info. That gives a few file details, such as the size and dates, but not the camera information that Photos shows.
metadata.video runs in Safari on your iPhone. The file is read on the phone, nothing is sent to a server, and there is nothing to install.
When iOS hands a file from your photo library to a website, it can sometimes pass a converted copy rather than the original, which may lack some fields. If the location or other details you expect are missing, save the original to the Files app from the share sheet and open it from there.
iPhones record MOV files and store their details as QuickTime keys inside the file’s header box. These are the ones you will see most often:
| Key | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
com.apple.quicktime.make / .model | Apple / iPhone 17 Pro | The device |
com.apple.quicktime.software | 26.1 | The iOS version that recorded it |
com.apple.quicktime.creationdate | 2026-03-03T18:42:07+0000 | When recording began, with the time zone offset |
com.apple.quicktime.location.ISO6709 | +51.4779-000.0015+046.000/ | Where recording began |
com.apple.quicktime.location.accuracy.horizontal | 4.7 | How sure the phone was, in metres |
| Video codec | HEVC Main 10 | High Efficiency format, 10-bit |
| HDR | Dolby Vision 8.4 | Apple’s HDR video, with an HLG base layer |
The codec depends on Settings > Camera > Formats. High Efficiency records HEVC (and HEIC photos), which takes about half the space; Most Compatible records H.264 and JPEG, which play almost everywhere. If a clip will not open on an older computer or TV, the codec is the first thing to check; see HEVC vs H.264.
Recent iPhones record HDR video in Dolby Vision by default, which can look washed out or too bright in apps that do not support it. The HDR video checker explains what the file holds. iPhone video is also often variable frame rate: a “30 fps” clip may wander between 29 and 31 frames a second, which some editors handle badly. The Video section shows the real minimum, average and maximum.
Photos work the same way: the Info panel shows the camera, lens, exposure and location, and the full EXIF record, including maker notes and XMP, is in the EXIF viewer.
A video or photo you received through a messaging app is usually a new copy made by that app, so its metadata describes the copy, not the original recording: the location is often missing and the date can be the day it was sent. See do apps remove video metadata for why.
Open the photo in Photos and swipe up, or tap the Info button. It shows the main EXIF details: camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO and location. For every tag, open the photo in the EXIF viewer in Safari.
Not in the Photos app. Open the video in metadata.video in Safari and look at Video, which shows the codec, profile, bit depth and the codec tag, and whether it is likely to play elsewhere.
At the top of the Info panel in Photos. That is the date in your library, which can differ from the date inside the file if it was adjusted; Date & time here lists both.
The item has no location, either because Camera location was off when it was taken or because it came from an app or website that removed it.
No. A browser tool such as metadata.video works in Safari, reads the file on your iPhone and needs no install or account.
The Info panel usually shows the resolution for a video. To see the exact pixel size, whether it is shown rotated and how it compares with 1080p and 4K, open it in the video resolution checker.
Yes. iPadOS has the same Photos Info panel, and Safari on iPad opens files in metadata.video the same way.