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Remove Metadata and EXIF From an Image

Processed entirely in your browser. Never uploaded to a server.

Drop a JPEG or PNG here or click to browse

Processed entirely in your browser. Never uploaded to a server.

This tool removes the metadata embedded in a JPEG or PNG: EXIF, GPS coordinates, XMP, IPTC fields, and text comments. Drop a file, read what it found, then remove it and download the cleaned copy. The download gets a -clean suffix so it never overwrites your original.

Nothing is re-encoded

Most metadata removers decode the image and encode it again, which costs quality on a JPEG every single time. This one does not. A JPEG is treated as a list of marker segments: the metadata segments are dropped and the rest of the file, including all of the compressed image scan data, is copied through byte for byte. A PNG is treated as a list of chunks, and the retained chunks keep their original bytes and their original CRCs. Same pixels, same quality, smaller file.

What is removed, precisely

From a JPEG: the EXIF APP1 segment, the XMP APP1 segment, the JFIF APP0 segment, the Photoshop/IPTC APP13 segment, all other APPn segments, and COM comment segments. From a PNG: tEXt, iTXt, zTXt, eXIf, and tIME chunks. IHDR, PLTE, IDAT, IEND and the JPEG SOF, DQT, DHT and SOS structures are untouched.

Two deliberate exceptions

The ICC colour profile is kept unless you tick the box, since dropping it can change how colours render and it holds no personal data. The JPEG APP14 "Adobe" segment is always kept, because it describes how Adobe CMYK and YCCK colour data should be interpreted and removing it can change the decoded image. Removing the JFIF APP0 segment does discard the stored DPI value; the pixels are unaffected.

What the inspector can and cannot see

The inspector reads the file structure to report which metadata categories exist, and it checks the EXIF block specifically for a GPS section, because location is the part that matters most before sharing a photo. It reads the camera make, model, and capture date when those are stored as plain text. It is not a full EXIF tag viewer and it does not display your coordinates. Data held anywhere after the start of the image scan, such as a second image appended by some phone cameras, is left alone.

Need the file smaller too? Run it through Compress Image or Compress to Target Size afterwards. Those tools re-encode, so run them second if you care about the metadata being gone.

Cropping or resizing also drops metadata as a side effect, because both re-encode the image. See Crop Image and Resize Image.

FAQ

Does this reduce image quality?
No. The image is never decoded or re-encoded. For a JPEG the tool walks the file's marker segments, drops the metadata ones, and copies the compressed scan data through byte for byte. For a PNG it drops metadata chunks and copies every remaining chunk unchanged. The pixels that come out are the same pixels that went in.
Exactly what gets removed?
From a JPEG: the APP1 EXIF block (which is where GPS coordinates live), APP1 XMP, APP0 JFIF, APP13 Photoshop/IPTC, every other APPn segment, and COM comments. From a PNG: tEXt, iTXt, zTXt, eXIf, and tIME chunks. Two things are deliberately kept, see the next question.
Why is the colour profile kept by default?
An ICC profile (APP2 in a JPEG, iCCP in a PNG) carries no personal information, and removing it can visibly shift colours on a wide-gamut image. There is a checkbox to remove it if you want to. The JPEG APP14 "Adobe" segment is always kept, because it tells decoders how to read Adobe CMYK colour data and removing it can change how the file looks.
What can the inspector not tell me?
It reports which metadata categories are present, plus the camera make and model and the capture date when EXIF stores them as plain text. It does not decode every tag, and it does not show you your actual GPS coordinates. It detects whether a GPS block exists, which is what matters before you share a photo.
Which formats are supported?
JPEG and PNG only. Those are the two formats this tool can rebuild without re-encoding. Any other format is rejected with an error rather than quietly re-compressed, which would cost you quality.
Why does the file barely get smaller?
Metadata is usually a few kilobytes against a multi-megabyte image. Size reduction is a side effect here, not the goal. If you want a smaller file, compress it instead.

Curious what's actually in that metadata? Read what your photos are telling people.