Image metadata β what travels with a photograph
A photo file holds more than the picture. When it was taken, what took it, and often where. See what is attached, and remove it if you would rather it did not travel with the file.
Cameras and phones write the circumstances of the shot into the file alongside the image. The format is called EXIF, and it goes wherever the file goes.
Most of it is harmless β shutter speed and lens details tell nobody anything they can use. Location is the exception.
When coordinates are attached
With location services on, a phone records where each photograph was taken. Latitude and longitude down to fractions of a second, which on a map points at a single building.
Post a photo taken at home to a classifieds listing and those coordinates go with it. Most social networks strip metadata on upload, but sending the original file through a forum or a messenger leaves it intact.
This tool shows the coordinates when they are present. Nothing shown means nothing was there.
What is in there
| Field | Example | Sensitive? |
|---|---|---|
| Date taken | 2026:08:15 14:32:07 | sometimes |
| Make and model | Apple iPhone 15 Pro | usually not |
| GPS coordinates | 37Β° 33' 12.4" N | yes |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s | no |
| Aperture | f/2.8 | no |
| ISO | 400 | no |
| Focal length | 24mm | no |
| Orientation | 6 (rotate 90Β° CW) | no |
What the orientation tag does
A photo shot in portrait is often stored landscape, with a tag saying βrotate this before showing itβ. That is why the same file appears upright in one program and sideways in another: some read the tag and some do not.
Removing metadata removes that tag β but the photo does not end up sideways. Browsers apply the orientation while decoding, so the rotation is baked into the pixels of the cleaned file and the tag is no longer needed.
The file format is preserved
Metadata removers commonly hand back a PNG. For a photograph that is the wrong choice. On an 800Γ600 photographic image, 197KB as JPEG becomes 1,034KB as PNG β five times the size.
Asking for metadata to be removed and receiving a file five times larger is a strange trade. A JPEG comes back as a JPEG here, and a PNG as a PNG.
Worth knowing
- β’Instagram, Facebook and X strip metadata on upload β though the original still reaches their servers.
- β’Choosing βsend originalβ in a messenger or email client sends the metadata too.
- β’Turning off location access for the camera app stops it being recorded in the first place.
- β’Removing metadata does not change what is visible in the photograph. A view through a window or a shop sign can say more than a coordinate.
- β’PNG and WEBP can carry metadata too, though less often than JPEG.
Frequently asked questions
Nothing is shown at all.
The file has no metadata. Screenshots, already-edited images and photos re-downloaded from social networks usually do not.
Why is the exposure time a fraction?
Because that is how the camera records it and how photographers read it. Writing 1/200s as 0.005 is the same number and nobody's way of saying it.
Is the cleaned file really empty?
Yes. Put the result back into this tool to check.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. Reading and stripping both happen in your browser. Having to send a photo somewhere in order to check whether it reveals your location would rather defeat the purpose.