Remove EXIF Metadata
Every photo you take carries hidden metadata: camera model, timestamps, software — and often your exact GPS location. Strip it permanently, right here. Your files never leave your device.
What is actually inside a photo file
A JPEG is not just pixels. The format allows "metadata blocks" next to the image data, and cameras fill them in automatically:
- Camera and lens — make, model, lens model, and on many bodies a serial number that is unique to your device.
- Exposure settings — shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length, flash fired or not.
- Time — capture timestamp with the UTC offset, plus separate "digitized" and "modified" stamps.
- Location — latitude and longitude to roughly a metre, altitude, GPS timestamp, sometimes heading and speed.
- Software and edit history — which app saved the file, and in some pipelines a record of the editing steps.
- An embedded thumbnail — a small preview image stored inside the metadata. It can outlive edits to the main picture and still show the original frame.
Three ways to strip it
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Remove everything | All EXIF metadata, GPS and embedded thumbnails — gone. The right choice before a public post or a listing. |
| Remove location only | GPS coordinates removed; camera settings and timestamps stay. For travel and street photography where the settings are part of the work. |
| Remove identity, keep camera settings | Strips GPS, timestamps, software and serials; keeps exposure, ISO and focal length. |
What removing metadata does not fix
Clean metadata is not the same as a safe photo. Before you publish a picture, look at the picture itself:
- House numbers, street signs and shop fronts in the background.
- Reflections in windows and glasses; documents or mail on a desk.
- Uniforms, badges, name tags, luggage tags, licence plates.
- The photo's own history: the same image published elsewhere can be matched by reverse image search regardless of metadata.
And remember that a platform you upload to can attach its own metadata afterwards — plain metadata is a property of the file you control, not of every copy that exists.
How to check that it worked
- Add your photos and pick a mode; the tool reports how many fields it removed.
- Open the downloaded file in the EXIF viewer and compare it with the original — the fields you removed should be gone, and nothing else should have changed.
- The file size usually drops by a few kilobytes. That is the metadata leaving; the image data is untouched.
Formats and honest limits
- JPEG, PNG, WebP — metadata is rewritten inside the file; image data is copied unchanged. Lossless means the pixels are not re-compressed.
- HEIC — can be read, not rewritten losslessly in the browser. Convert it to JPG instead; conversion drops the metadata.
- Scope — this operation edits the EXIF block. If a file also carries separate XMP or IPTC blocks, they are outside this step; check the result in the viewer.
- Batch — up to 50 MB per file, many files at once, results delivered as one ZIP. No account, no daily quota.
Frequently asked questions
Does removing metadata reduce image quality?▼
No. PlainFile rewrites only the metadata blocks inside the file; the compressed image data is copied byte-for-byte. There is no re-compression, so a 12 MP photo stays a 12 MP photo with identical pixels.
Can I remove the location but keep my camera settings?▼
Yes. Two of the three modes are selective: "Remove location only" clears GPS coordinates and keeps everything else, while "Remove identity, keep camera settings" strips GPS, timestamps, software and serial numbers but keeps shutter speed, ISO and focal length — useful for portfolios and photo communities.
I removed GPS with another tool and it still shows. Why?▼
Most cameras and phone editors store a small preview image inside the metadata. That embedded thumbnail carries its own copy of the tags, so clearing only the main EXIF block leaves the coordinates readable. PlainFile's "Remove everything" mode clears the metadata and the embedded thumbnail together.
Does it work with HEIC photos from an iPhone?▼
HEIC can be read here, but it cannot be rewritten losslessly in the browser — the viewer will tell you so. Convert the photos to JPG instead: conversion drops all metadata, location included.
Are my photos uploaded anywhere?▼
No. The files are read into browser memory and processed by a Web Worker on your device. There is no server-side component to upload to, and after the first load the tool works offline.
Is there a limit, and does it handle batches?▼
Files up to 50 MB each, no account, no daily limit and no watermark. Select several photos at once and the cleaned results come back as a single ZIP download.
Just checking what your photo reveals? Open the EXIF viewer.
iPhone (HEIC) photo? Convert it to JPG — conversion strips all metadata.
Selling something online? Your listing photos know where you live. Posting to social media? Don't rely on Instagram to strip it. A photographer keeping camera settings? Remove identity, keep the camera layer.