--- title: "How to See Video Metadata on iPhone | metadata.video" description: "Check photo and video metadata on iPhone in the Photos Info panel, then see what it hides: codec, HDR, bitrate, time zone. Free in Safari, nothing uploaded." url: https://metadata.video/view-video-metadata-iphone --- Free · runs in your browser # How to check video and photo metadata on iPhone 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. ## See photo and video details in the Photos app 1. ### Open the item Open **Photos** and tap the photo or video you want to check. 2. ### Show the information Swipe up on it, or tap the **Info** button. The panel slides up under the picture. 3. ### Read the details 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. 4. ### Close the panel Swipe down, or tap the **Info** button again, to go back to the picture. ## What the Photos app shows, and what it does not Apple keeps the Info panel short on purpose. Here is how it compares with a full read of the same iPhone video. __The Photos Info panel compared with a full metadata read.__ | 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** | ### In the Files app 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. ## See every field in Safari 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. 1. Open metadata.video in Safari and tap **Open a file**. 2. Choose the video or photo from your library, or browse to it in Files. 3. **Overview** appears first with a one-line summary, such as “4K HDR video from an iPhone”, and the key facts. Tap the ⓘ next to any field for an explanation. 4. Scroll down for **Location**, **Date & time**, **Device**, **Video**, **Audio** and **HDR & colour**. On a phone, the sections run as one long page. 5. Tap **Report** if you need the full list to paste into a support request, with **Copy** or **Download text**. 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. ## What an iPhone video’s metadata means 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: Inside an iPhone MOV: a header box holding the Apple keys (make, model, software, creation date, location) and the track descriptions, next to the much larger block of compressed video and audio. __Common fields in an iPhone video and what they mean.__ | 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 | ### HEVC or H.264 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](https://metadata.video/hevc-vs-h264). ### HDR and frame rate 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](https://metadata.video/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, and files you were sent 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](https://metadata.video/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](https://metadata.video/do-apps-remove-video-metadata) for why. * To remove the location before sharing, see [remove location from iPhone videos and photos](https://metadata.video/remove-location-from-video-iphone). * To correct a wrong date, see [change a video’s date on iPhone](https://metadata.video/change-video-date-iphone). * To check a clip on an Android phone instead, see [video metadata on Android](https://metadata.video/view-video-metadata-android). ## iPhone metadata questions ### How do I see the EXIF data of a photo on iPhone? 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](https://metadata.video/exif-viewer) in Safari. ### Can I see a video’s codec on iPhone? 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. ### Where does iPhone show when a video was taken? 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. ### Why is there no map in the Info panel? 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. ### Do I need an app to see full metadata on iPhone? No. A browser tool such as metadata.video works in Safari, reads the file on your iPhone and needs no install or account. ### How do I check if an iPhone video is 4K? 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](https://metadata.video/video-resolution-checker). ### Does the same work on iPad? Yes. iPadOS has the same Photos Info panel, and Safari on iPad opens files in metadata.video the same way. ## Related metadata guides * [ Video metadata viewer See, explain, edit and remove everything a video or photo says about itself. ](https://metadata.video/) * [ Remove location from iPhone photos and videos Turn off Camera location, use Adjust Location and No Location in Photos, and share without location. ](https://metadata.video/remove-location-from-video-iphone) * [ EXIF viewer for photos See camera, exposure, date and GPS tags in a photo, with each EXIF, XMP and IPTC field explained. ](https://metadata.video/exif-viewer) * [ Change a video’s date on iPhone Use Adjust Date & Time in Photos or Google Photos, and fix the date inside the file. ](https://metadata.video/change-video-date-iphone) * [ HEVC vs H.264 compared File size, quality, compatibility and editing compared, with the iPhone format setting explained. ](https://metadata.video/hevc-vs-h264) * [ Check if a video is HDR SDR, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG or Dolby Vision, with profile, bit depth, primaries and MaxCLL explained. ](https://metadata.video/hdr-video-checker) * [ How to see video metadata on Android Google Photos About and Samsung Gallery details, their limits, and removing location. ](https://metadata.video/view-video-metadata-android)