Read the hidden metadata a camera writes into a photo — the camera model, the timestamp and, worst of all, the GPS coordinates of where it was taken — then export a clean copy with that metadata removed. The file is parsed on your own device; nothing is uploaded.

What is removed: the whole EXIF segment, so the GPS block, the timestamp and the camera identifiers go with it. What is kept: the pixels and the pixel dimensions. The removing step is a re-encode, which writes a fresh file with no metadata at all.

Read and remove the metadata hidden in a photo

A camera does not only record pixels. It writes a block of text alongside them — the make and model of the device, the date and time the shutter fired, the orientation of the shot, and, on a phone with location services on, the GPS coordinates of the spot where you were standing. That block is easy to forget because you never see it, and it survives almost every ordinary edit. Cropping a photo, resizing it, even posting it to some services leaves the block intact.

This tool shows you what is in that block before you do anything with the file. The reader walks the JPEG segments to the APP1 segment whose payload starts with Exif\0\0, then reads the TIFF header and the IFD0 entry table: Make (0x010F), Model (0x0110), Orientation (0x0112) and DateTime (0x0132). If the GPS IFD pointer (0x8825) is present it follows it and reads the latitude and longitude as well. It is a deliberately small reader, not a full EXIF table — XMP, ICC and IPTC are out of scope — but it covers the tags that actually carry a privacy risk.

If GPS coordinates are found the tool says so loudly, in a red warning above the tag list, with the coordinates printed out. It will not quietly list them among the other rows and leave you to notice. For a passport, visa or job application that is the tag you most want gone: there is no reason for a recruiter, a portal or a stranger on a forum to learn where you live from the photo you sent them.

Removing the metadata is done by re-encoding: the decoded image is drawn onto a new canvas at the same pixel dimensions and your browser encodes a fresh file from it. The browser's own encoder does not write an EXIF segment, so the clean copy has no metadata by construction rather than by hope. The status line is honest about it: it re-scans the exported bytes and reports how many tags it can still find, which is zero. Choose PNG if you want a lossless export or JPEG for a smaller file.

Privacy: the file is read into memory in your browser and never uploaded, stored or transmitted. There is no server and no account, and the parsing code is written into this page rather than pulled from a library. If your upload was refused for file size instead of metadata, compress it first with the image compressor, and for the format and size rules a portal applies, see the digital file requirements. You can validate the photo itself with the passport photo checker.

Frequently asked questions

Does this tool upload my photo?
No. The file is read into memory in your browser, the EXIF segment is parsed here, and the clean copy is encoded by your own device with Canvas. Nothing is sent to a server, and there is no account, no WASM and no third-party library.

What metadata does it read?
The reader walks the JPEG segments to the APP1 “Exif” block and reads IFD0 for Make, Model, Orientation and DateTime, plus the GPS block when the GPS pointer is present. It is deliberately not a full EXIF table: it does not read XMP, ICC or IPTC, and it does not list every camera tag — only the ones named here.

Does removing the metadata change my picture?
The output keeps the original pixel dimensions and the image is redrawn 1:1 onto a new canvas, so the framing, the crop and the pixel grid are unchanged. Be aware that a JPEG export is a fresh encode (quality 0.95), not a byte-for-byte copy of the old file; choose PNG if you want a lossless export. What is dropped — not re-encoded — is the metadata segment itself.

Why is GPS in a photo a privacy problem?
A phone often writes the coordinates where the shot was taken into the EXIF block. That location travels with the file wherever it is posted or uploaded, and anyone who receives the image can read it. For a passport, visa or ID upload there is no reason to send your home coordinates along with the photo, so strip them before the file leaves your device.

Is there a way to keep only the orientation?
No — this tool removes the whole metadata block, orientation included. The reason to know about Orientation is the opposite one: if it is the only tag you care about, remove nothing and instead make sure your photo is already rotated the right way up before upload, because export will not carry that tag forward.

Does it work on a PNG or a file with no EXIF?
Yes. A PNG has no APP1 “Exif” segment at all, so the reader reports no tags instead of failing, and the export still produces a clean re-encoded copy. A JPEG that was already stripped behaves the same way: zero tags found, no error, pixels unchanged.

Is it free?
Yes. The EXIF remover is free and runs entirely on your device, with no watermark and no sign-up.

Related: digital file requirements · Image Compressor · Image Resizer · Passport Photo Checker · all tools

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