Free • Private • No uploads

Your photos are talking behind your back

Every image you share carries invisible metadata — your GPS coordinates, device fingerprint, the exact moment you pressed the shutter. StripMeta removes it all, locally, before the file ever leaves your device.

🔒 Zero uploads JPEG • PNG • WebP Batch processing Completely free
Remove metadata now ↓

What is EXIF data?

The hidden passenger in every photo

EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a standard that embeds a detailed profile of metadata inside every image file. Cameras and smartphones write this automatically — and it travels with your image everywhere you share it, completely invisibly to the naked eye.

GPS Location
52.3702° N, 4.8952° E
Exact coordinates where the photo was taken, often accurate to a few metres
Date & Time
2024-11-03 08:42:17
Precise timestamp — can reveal routines, travel patterns, and schedules
Device
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Make, model and sometimes the unique serial number of your camera or phone
Software
iOS 17.1.1
Operating system version — useful for fingerprinting your specific device
Altitude
14.3 m above sea level
Elevation data that pinpoints your floor in a building or your location in terrain
Embedded thumbnail
Hidden preview image
A separate JPEG thumbnail is stored inside the file — sometimes showing content cropped out of the main image

Why it matters

Metadata has caused real harm

This isn't theoretical. Journalists, activists, abuse survivors, and ordinary people have been located, stalked, or identified because of the hidden data in a single shared photograph.

01
Location tracking & stalking
GPS coordinates embedded in photos posted to social media have been used to pinpoint people's home addresses and daily routines — even when the content itself revealed nothing.
02
Journalist & source exposure
Photos shared with newsrooms or leaked to the public have inadvertently identified whistleblowers and journalists working in sensitive regions through device and location metadata.
03
Device fingerprinting
Camera serial numbers in EXIF data can link multiple photos to the same device, even if posted under different accounts — breaking anonymity across platforms.
04
Domestic abuse situations
People fleeing dangerous relationships who share photos online have been found because their image files contained the precise GPS coordinates of their new location.
05
Corporate intelligence leaks
Product photos shared before launch announcements have revealed office locations, software toolchains, and organisational structures through embedded metadata.
06
"Scrubbed" photos still leak
Many platforms claim to strip metadata but don't do so consistently — or only strip some fields. The only way to be certain is to strip it yourself before uploading.

How StripMeta works

Private by design, not by promise

Most online EXIF removers require you to upload your file to a server. That defeats the purpose — you're handing your private photos (and their metadata) to a stranger. StripMeta works differently.

01
You select your images
Drop files onto the tool or click to browse. Files stay on your device — nothing is transmitted anywhere. Your browser's File API reads them directly into memory.
02
The parser runs locally
JavaScript reads the raw binary of each image file. For JPEG it walks every segment header, stripping APP markers that carry EXIF, XMP and IPTC data. PNG text chunks and WebP metadata chunks are removed the same way.
03
A clean file is assembled
Only the essential imaging data — the actual pixels, colour profiles, and compression — is kept. The image looks identical but carries zero metadata.
04
You download the result
A clean copy is offered as a download with a -clean suffix. Your original file is untouched. The processed data is discarded from memory when you close the tab.

The tool

Strip metadata now

Drop your images below. Everything happens in your browser — no account, no upload, no trace.

stripmeta.eu — local processing
📷
Drop images here
or click to select — multiple files supported
JPEG PNG WebP

FAQ

Common questions

Does stripping EXIF data damage the image quality?
No. EXIF metadata is stored in separate segments of the file, completely isolated from the pixel data. Removing it has zero effect on visual quality, resolution, or file integrity. The image will look pixel-for-pixel identical.
Do social media platforms strip EXIF data automatically?
Most major platforms (Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook) do strip some or most metadata when you upload. However, this is inconsistent, not guaranteed, and happens after your file has already reached their servers. Stripping before you upload means you retain control and never expose that data at all.
Is anything actually sent to a server?
Nothing. The tool is a single HTML file with no backend. All processing is done using the Web File API and JavaScript, entirely within your browser's sandboxed environment. You can even download this page and run it offline with no internet connection.
What's the difference between EXIF, XMP and IPTC?
All three are metadata standards that can be embedded in image files. EXIF (from cameras) carries technical shooting data like GPS and exposure settings. IPTC carries editorial data like captions and copyright. XMP is Adobe's extensible format used by editing software. StripMeta removes all three.
Can I process multiple images at once?
Yes. You can select or drop as many images as you like. Each is processed independently and appears in the results list with its own download button.
Will this work on screenshots?
Screenshots are typically saved as PNG files and rarely contain location metadata. However, they may contain software version information or device data. StripMeta will clean those fields too.