EXIF Remover
Strip EXIF, GPS location, XMP and IPTC metadata from JPEG or PNG — losslessly.
Results are provided as is, for general information. Check anything important before relying on it. See the Terms of Use.
About this tool
Removes metadata from JPEG and PNG files without re-encoding a single pixel: JPEG APP segments are stripped (EXIF with GPS coordinates, XMP, IPTC, comments — the JFIF APP0 compatibility segment is kept), and PNG text and eXIf chunks are dropped. Because the surviving bytes are copied untouched, there is zero quality loss — unlike re-compressing through a canvas, which rebuilds the image and throws away detail. Everything is processed on your device; the image never leaves your browser.
When to use it
Questions
Does removing metadata reduce image quality?
No. The tool edits bytes at the container level — metadata segments and chunks are deleted and the rest of the file is copied byte-identically. Pixels, color profile and compression are untouched, which is exactly why this beats re-encoding the image through a canvas: nothing is recompressed.
My photo looks rotated after cleaning — why?
The rotation was never in the pixels: cameras store an orientation tag inside EXIF and expect viewers to rotate on display. Removing EXIF removes that instruction, so a viewer that ignored the original tag now shows the stored orientation. Most modern viewers and social platforms re-apply it automatically; if yours does not, rotate the cleaned copy once and re-save.
Why is the JFIF (APP0) segment kept?
APP0 is the minimal compatibility header many readers expect to find in a JPEG; stripping it can break decoding in older or stricter software while carrying no privacy-relevant data. Everything else in the APP0–APP15 range — where EXIF, XMP, IPTC and comments live — is removed.
Does it work on HEIC, WebP or TIFF?
No — this tool handles the two formats where hand-stripping is safe and well-defined: JPEG and PNG. For other formats, re-export from your editor with metadata disabled, or run it through the image compressor, which re-encodes pixels and leaves EXIF behind.
What metadata does it strip?
In JPEG: the whole APP-segment range where metadata lives — EXIF (with its GPS sub-section), XMP, IPTC and comments — while the JFIF compatibility header is kept so the file stays maximally readable. In PNG: the text and eXIf chunks. What remains is the image and the minimum container needed to decode it — pixels, palette, compression settings — and nothing that describes where, when or with what it was captured.
How can I see what my photo currently leaks?
Every OS already shows you: the file's properties or details view on Windows, Get Info on macOS — listing camera model, timestamps and a GPS section when coordinates are embedded. Phones tag location by default, so before posting anything that shows a home, workplace or school, look there: that is the data that survives until something strips it.
Will the image look identical after stripping?
Yes — the pixels are untouched, because the tool deletes metadata containers and copies the image bytes through unchanged. No recompression, no quality loss, no color shift: rendering is identical. That is the entire advantage over 're-export as JPEG', which strips metadata by rebuilding the image and charges a quality toll for it.
My cleaned photo displays rotated — why?
The rotation was never in the pixels: cameras store an orientation tag and expect viewers to apply it on display. Removing EXIF removes the instruction, so a viewer that ignores such tags now shows the stored (sideways) orientation. Rotate the cleaned copy once in any editor and re-save; most modern viewers and platforms would have re-applied it anyway.
Does it handle HEIC, WebP or TIFF?
No — just JPEG and PNG, the two formats where container-level stripping is well-defined and provably safe. HEIC hides its metadata in format-specific containers, TIFF's structure is too varied to edit blindly, and WebP is a different container family. For those, re-export with metadata disabled, or push the image through a canvas-based tool, which re-encodes pixels and drops metadata incidentally.
Why does local processing matter here?
Because the threat model assumes you do not trust the other end. The point of stripping a photo before posting is that the receiving party should not learn your location or device — and sending the unstripped original to a web service to have it 'cleaned' would hand that same data to a new third party before any cleaning happened. The stripping happens on your device, so the data never exists on anyone else's server.