Metadata Stripper

Knowledge Base

How It Works

Point it at a folder and it scans every JPEG, PNG, and WebP file, reporting exactly which metadata categories each one carries, without modifying anything. When you strip, it writes cleaned copies into a stripped/ subfolder next to your originals, so the source files are never overwritten. If a scan comes back clean, there's nothing to strip.

Why GPS Data Matters

Camera GPS tagging is convenient for organizing your own photo library, but it's also the most consequential thing to remove before publishing. A geotagged photo posted publicly can reveal exactly where it was taken (a home address, a studio location, a client's site) none of which is visible in the image itself. GPS coordinates live inside the EXIF block, so removing EXIF removes them.

Why This One Isn't a Browser App

Every other tool on this site runs entirely in your browser by design, no upload, no install. This one is different on purpose: cleaning a whole folder of images means real filesystem access to read, rewrite, and save files at their original byte level, which a sandboxed browser tab isn't well suited for at batch scale.

FAQ

Q: Does this recompress or resize my images?
A: No. It only removes metadata segments/chunks from the file container. The pixel data is untouched, so image quality is identical.

Q: Will I get a security warning when I open it?
A: Possibly, until code-signing is set up for this project, unsigned apps trigger a standard OS warning on first launch (Gatekeeper on macOS, SmartScreen on Windows). The app itself is unaffected. You can review the source on GitHub before running it if you'd like to verify that yourself.

Q: Can I use it without an internet connection?
A: Yes, once installed it runs entirely offline. Your images never leave your machine.

What images carry that you did not intend

A photograph straight from a camera or phone carries far more than the picture. Camera model, serial number, exact settings, the date and time to the second, and on most phones the precise location where it was taken are all embedded in the file and travel with it wherever it goes.

Location data is the part with real consequences. A photograph taken at home and posted publicly can carry coordinates accurate to a few metres, and a series of them describes a routine. This applies to pictures of objects as much as people, so a listing photograph of something for sale can reveal where the seller lives.

Platforms strip inconsistently, which makes assuming dangerous. Some social networks remove metadata on upload, some retain parts of it, and files sent through messaging, email or cloud links frequently arrive intact. Relying on the recipient's platform to clean a file is relying on behaviour that changes without notice.

Not all metadata is worth removing. Copyright and creator fields serve you, and colour profile information affects how an image is displayed, so stripping everything indiscriminately can leave a picture looking wrong and unattributable. Removing location and device identifiers while keeping rights and colour data is usually the sensible position.

Strip at the point of publication rather than at the point of capture. The original file with its full metadata is worth keeping, since capture settings are genuinely useful for learning what worked and rights information matters if a picture is ever disputed. Cleaning the copy that goes out preserves both.

Vocabulary

EXIF. Exchangeable Image File Format, the standard for metadata embedded in photographs by cameras and phones. Holds camera model and serial number, exposure settings, timestamps accurate to the second, and on most phones the GPS coordinates of capture.

Geotag. Location coordinates recorded into an image file at the moment of capture. Accurate to a few metres on most phones, and the metadata field with the clearest privacy consequences.

IPTC. A metadata standard for descriptive and rights information, including creator, copyright and caption. Generally worth keeping when stripping technical metadata, since it identifies and protects the work.

Colour profile. Embedded information describing how the file's colour values should be interpreted. Removing it can make an image display with wrong colours, so it is one field to preserve when cleaning.