--- title: "How to See Video Metadata on Windows | metadata.video" description: "See video metadata on Windows in Properties → Details, why Remove Properties and Personal Information misses most MP4 data, and a free no-upload alternative." url: https://metadata.video/view-video-metadata-windows --- Free · runs in your browser # How to see and edit video metadata on Windows What File Explorer’s Details tab shows for a video, what its built-in remover can and cannot clear, and how to see or edit the rest. To see a video’s metadata on Windows, right-click the file in File Explorer, choose **Properties** and open the **Details** tab. It lists the length, frame width and height, data rate, total bitrate and frame rate, the audio format, and a few description fields such as the title and comments, on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. The same tab has a **Remove Properties and Personal Information** link, but it only offers the properties Windows itself understands for that file type. For MP4 and MOV videos that leaves out most of what matters for privacy: the GPS location a phone wrote, Apple and Android device keys, XMP, Content Credentials and telemetry tracks. Some people find the option missing for video files altogether. For everything else, open the file in Edge or Chrome on [metadata.video](https://metadata.video/). The video is read on your PC, never uploaded, every field is explained, and you can edit or remove metadata losslessly. This guide covers the built-in route first. ## See a video’s details in File Explorer 1. ### Open Properties In File Explorer, right-click the video and choose **Properties**. On Windows 11 it is in the first menu; you can also select the file and press Alt+Enter. 2. ### Open the Details tab Choose the **Details** tab. Properties are grouped under headings; scroll to see the video and audio groups. 3. ### Read the video fields Look for **Length**, **Frame width**, **Frame height**, **Data rate** (the average video bitrate), **Total bitrate** (video plus audio) and **Frame rate**. The audio group lists the bit rate, channels and sample rate. 4. ### Edit or remove what Windows allows Some description fields can be edited by clicking the value. To clear properties, click **Remove Properties and Personal Information** at the bottom, choose an option, then **Apply** and **OK**. ## What the Details tab shows for a video Windows reads videos through its own property handlers, which map a fixed list of fields from each format. For MP4, MOV and M4V, that list covers the basics well and stops there. __Details tab fields for MP4 and MOV video, as named in Microsoft’s property documentation.__ | Shown in Details | What it means | Watch out for | | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Length** | Running time | Rounded to the second | | **Frame width** and **Frame height** | Stored picture size in pixels | A portrait phone clip often shows as 1920 wide by 1080 high, because the rotation flag is not applied | | **Data rate** | Average video bitrate | An average: phone video varies a lot from second to second | | **Total bitrate** | Video plus audio | Always larger than the data rate | | **Frame rate** | Frames per second | Rounded; variable frame rate is not flagged | | Audio bit rate, channels, sample rate | The sound track’s basics | Only one audio track is described | | Title, subtitle, comments, tags, year, genre | Descriptive tags Windows can map | Apple and Android keys are not listed | | An encoded or media-created date | Read from the file’s header; Microsoft stores it in UTC | Can be an hour or more off your local time, or a 1904 default | ### What it does not show * The codec name, profile and bit depth (H.264 or HEVC, 8-bit or 10-bit): see the [codec checker](https://metadata.video/video-codec-checker). * Whether the video is HDR, and which kind: see the [HDR checker](https://metadata.video/hdr-video-checker). * GPS location from phones, which is stored in keys Windows does not map: see [where was this video taken?](https://metadata.video/where-was-this-video-taken) * Device make and model for most phone videos, the recording time zone, chapters, subtitle tracks and Content Credentials. The **Created** and **Modified** dates on the **General** tab belong to Windows’ file system, not the video. They change when you copy the file and say nothing about when it was filmed. ## “Remove Properties and Personal Information” and MP4 The link opens a dialog with two choices: **Create a copy with all possible properties removed**, or **Remove the following properties from this file**, where you tick fields (or **Select All**) and press **Apply** and **OK**. It is a reasonable tool for Office documents and JPEG photos. For video it has real limits. * **It only offers what Windows lists.** Fields Windows does not read, such as an iPhone’s ISO 6709 location key, Android location tags, XMP, maker data and telemetry tracks, are never offered, so they are never removed. * **Some video files have no remove option at all.** Users on Microsoft’s Q&A forums report the link or the fields missing for video files, depending on the format and Windows version. * **Owner, Computer and Folder Path stay.** Those come from your file system, not the video. Folder Path is shown from wherever the file sits on the computer viewing it, so it does not travel with the file. * **There is no report of what was removed.** You have to reopen Details, which still cannot show the fields it never listed. A full strip compared with a partial one: removing every tag, location, device and provenance field while the video and audio are copied across untouched. If privacy is the reason you are cleaning a video, do not rely on the Details tab. Check the result in a tool that reads every field, such as **Privacy** on this site, which lists what a file reveals and rates each item. On metadata.video, **Remove all metadata** clears every tag, the location, device and software fields, XMP, Content Credentials, maker boxes and telemetry tracks, then **What changed** confirms it by reading the new file back. MP4 and MOV are rewritten without re-encoding, so the picture is identical. The [video metadata remover](https://metadata.video/remove-metadata-from-video) explains each step. ## Editing video metadata on Windows In the Details tab you can click some description fields, such as the title or comments, and type a new value. Windows writes those back into MP4 files it supports. It cannot change the recording date, location, device fields, cover art or chapters, and it does not handle many other formats. __Built-in editing compared with the browser editor. Every edit here is saved with Download new file (Ctrl+S).__ | You want to change | Details tab | metadata.video | | -------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Title, comments, artist, genre | Some fields, for supported formats | **Title**, **Description**, **Comment**, **Artist**, **Copyright**, **Keywords**, **Genre** | | Recording date and time zone | No | **Recorded** with **Time zone** and **Shift by** | | Location | No | **Location**, typed or **Pick on the map**, or **Clear location** | | Make, model, software | No | **Make**, **Model**, **Software** | | Thumbnail shown in Explorer | No | **Cover art** (MP4 and MOV) | | Chapters, track names, languages | No | **Chapters**, track **Name** and **Language** | Explorer reads embedded cover art for its large icons, so an MP4 with a cover image shows that picture instead of a frame; see [adding a thumbnail to an MP4](https://metadata.video/add-thumbnail-to-mp4). For the fields Windows, Plex and other apps read, the [MP4 metadata editor](https://metadata.video/mp4-metadata-editor) and [MKV metadata editor](https://metadata.video/mkv-metadata-editor) go into detail, and the [general video metadata editor](https://metadata.video/video-metadata-editor) covers every format. ## Other ways to read metadata on Windows ### PowerShell: every property Windows knows The Details tab hides empty fields and some groups. This short PowerShell script lists every property Windows’ handlers return for one file (change the folder and file name): `$shell = New-Object -ComObject Shell.Application $folder = $shell.Namespace("C:\Demo") $item = $folder.ParseName("clip.mp4") 0..320 | ForEach-Object { $value = $folder.GetDetailsOf($item, $_) if ($value) { "{0}: {1}" -f $folder.GetDetailsOf($null, $_), $value } }` It still only shows what Windows maps, so it will not reveal a phone’s location key either, but it is handy for checking a batch of files. ### ffprobe and MediaInfo For complete technical detail on a PC, ffprobe (part of FFmpeg) and the MediaInfo desktop app are the standard tools; the [ffprobe guide](https://metadata.video/how-to-use-ffprobe) has the commands. If you cannot install software, for example on a work laptop, the [file info report](https://metadata.video/video-file-info) gives the same kind of output in the browser. 1. Open Edge or Chrome and go to metadata.video. 2. Press **Open a file** (Ctrl+O), or drag the video from File Explorer onto the page. 3. Read **Overview** for a one-line summary, then **Privacy**, **Location**, **Video** or **Report** for detail. 4. To change something, use the **Edit & clean** panel and press **Download new file** (Ctrl+S). ## Video metadata on Windows: questions ### Why is the Details tab blank for my video? Windows only shows fields its property handler for that format understands. MKV, WebM, AVI and some camera formats show little or nothing, and an MP4 without standard tags shows only the technical fields. The file may still hold plenty of metadata in places Windows does not read. ### Does “Remove Properties and Personal Information” remove GPS from an MP4? Not reliably. It only offers properties Windows lists, and phone videos store location in keys Windows does not map. Check the cleaned file with a full inspector before sharing it. ### Why can’t I edit some properties in the Details tab? Windows can only write fields its handler supports for that file type, and some formats are read-only to it. Recording dates, locations and device fields are not editable there for video. ### Why does Windows show a different date from when I filmed the video? The **Created** date on the **General** tab is when that copy arrived on your PC. The date in **Details** comes from the file header and is stored in UTC, so it can differ from local time; files sent through apps may carry a new date altogether. ### How do I see a video’s codec on Windows? The Details tab does not name the codec. Use the [codec checker](https://metadata.video/video-codec-checker) in your browser, ffprobe, or MediaInfo to see whether it is H.264, HEVC or AV1 and which profile. ### Does editing metadata in Windows reduce video quality? No. Changing tags rewrites metadata, not the picture. The same is true on metadata.video, where MP4 and MOV edits rewrite only the metadata boxes. ### Is there a metadata editor built into Windows 10 or 11? Only the Details tab, which edits a handful of description fields for supported formats. For dates, location, device fields, cover art and chapters you need a separate editor. ## Related metadata guides * [ Video metadata viewer See, explain, edit and remove everything a video or photo says about itself. ](https://metadata.video/) * [ Remove metadata from a video Strip location, device, dates, XMP and telemetry from MP4, MOV and MKV files without re-encoding. ](https://metadata.video/remove-metadata-from-video) * [ Edit video metadata Change title, date, location, camera and track fields without re-encoding the video. ](https://metadata.video/video-metadata-editor) * [ MP4 metadata editor Edit MP4 and MOV tags such as ©nam, ©day and ©xyz, plus cover art, with no re-encode. ](https://metadata.video/mp4-metadata-editor) * [ How to see video metadata on a Mac Finder Get Info, QuickTime’s Movie Inspector and mdls in Terminal, compared. ](https://metadata.video/view-video-metadata-mac) * [ Check which codec a video uses See the video and audio codec, profile, level, bit depth, chroma and codec tag of any file. ](https://metadata.video/video-codec-checker) * [ Check and change a video’s date See when a video was recorded and fix wrong dates, time zones and 1970 defaults. ](https://metadata.video/change-video-date)