Image Metadata Privacy Cleaner
Strip EXIF, GPS, and other hidden metadata from photos before sharing them, done privately in your browser with no upload.
Drop one or more images to inspect metadata
JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC. Drop several to clean them in a batch and download a ZIP. Processed locally in your browser — never uploaded. An iPhone HEIC can always be scanned; cleaning one needs a browser that can open HEIC.
Click, press Enter, or paste an image with Ctrl+V.
Image provenance and AI informationwhat this tool can and cannot do
Image metadata and image provenance are not the same thing. Metadata is the set of fields written alongside the picture — the camera, the timestamp, the coordinates, the author. Provenance is a separate record of how an image was made and edited, and some files carry it as Content Credentials (C2PA) in their own block.
Zerdly reports provenance when it finds it, and names where it found it, but it does not check whether the record is valid or what it says. This is a privacy cleaner, not an authenticity verifier.
Some systems also mark an image in ways that are part of the picture itself rather than the file around it — watermarking that survives re-encoding, resizing and screenshotting by design. Creating a fresh image file removes common metadata; it does not remove marks carried in the pixels, and it cannot tell you whether any are there.
So this tool makes no claim about how a social network, a marketplace or any other service will classify an image you upload to it. Those systems change without notice and do not publish what they look at. You remain responsible for the disclosure requirements and policies of anywhere you publish.
One thing worth separating, because they are often confused: an image with no metadata is not evidence that an image was not generated. Those are different claims, and this tool speaks only to the first.
How to use this calculator
- Drop a JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC image into the box — or choose a file, or paste one with Ctrl+V. It is read locally on your device; nothing is uploaded. Drop several at once for batch mode.
- Read the privacy scan. It opens with one plain sentence about what the image could reveal, then lists each finding: GPS coordinates, written place names, camera and serial details, timestamps, author and contact fields, editing software, hidden thumbnails, and any content credentials. Coordinates stay hidden behind a Show button so they are not exposed on a shared screen.
- Press Create privacy-clean copy. The line under the button says in advance which method will be used and why. Open Advanced options first if you want to convert the format, cap the image size, change the quality, or keep the original compression exactly.
- Check the result. The panel lists what was removed and what is still detected, gives a SHA-256 fingerprint of both files, and lets you flick between the original and the cleaned copy to confirm the picture is unchanged. Download the image, and the plain-text report if you want a record.
How it works
The Image Metadata Privacy Cleaner inspects the hidden metadata embedded in an image and exports a privacy-clean copy, entirely in your browser. It reads EXIF, XMP and IPTC fields and groups them into plain-language privacy categories so you can see what an image might reveal before you share it — GPS coordinates, written place names, camera and serial details, timestamps, author and contact fields, editing software, embedded thumbnails, and any content-credentials block.
By default the cleaned copy is rebuilt from the pixels: the picture is decoded and re-encoded, so nothing at all is carried across from the original file — not even a metadata container this tool has never heard of. If you would rather keep a JPEG's exact compression, tick "Strip metadata without re-encoding" and it will remove the metadata containers it recognises while leaving the image data byte-for-byte identical. Animated images are always cleaned this way so every frame survives, and a JPEG that relies on EXIF rotation is always rebuilt so it does not come out sideways. The tool tells you which method it used and why.
After cleaning, the output is re-scanned in your browser and the report lists what is still detected as plainly as what went. You also get a SHA-256 fingerprint of the file before and after, so you can verify the change yourself rather than take our word for it.
Worked example
A phone photo of a house for sale. A JPG straight off a phone usually carries GPS coordinates accurate to a few metres, the camera make, model and sometimes serial number, the date and time it was taken, and the software that edited it. Posted to a listing or a forum, that is the street, the day, and a device fingerprint that links the photo to every other picture from the same phone. The scan flags it as High risk and says so in one sentence; the cleaned copy has those fields gone, the same dimensions, and a different SHA-256 you can check yourself. What the photo shows — the house, the street sign, the number on the door — is unchanged, because no metadata tool can alter that.
Tips
- Removing GPS and device data before posting protects your location and your routine — repeated photos from one phone share a device fingerprint even when each looks harmless.
- If you only want to check a file, read the scan and skip the export. Nothing is written unless you ask for it.
- Coordinates stay behind a Show button on purpose, so a scan is safe to do on a shared or projected screen.
- Cleaning is not the same as anonymising. A street sign, a uniform or a window reflection identifies a place perfectly well, and no metadata tool can see the picture.
- SVG and other formats are treated as unsupported to keep the tool safe — an SVG can contain scripts, so it is never parsed here.
Frequently asked questions
Does Zerdly upload my image?
No. Processing happens entirely in your browser using the File API. The image is not sent to a server, and it keeps working even if you disconnect from the network after the page loads.
Will the cleaned image look the same?
Yes — same dimensions, same picture. By default the copy is rebuilt from the pixels, which is the most thorough clean but re-encodes the file, so the size and compression can change and an embedded colour profile is not carried over. If you need the image data untouched, tick "Strip metadata without re-encoding" and a JPEG keeps its exact quality, at the cost of only removing the metadata containers this tool recognises.
What is the difference between the two cleaning methods?
Rebuilding decodes the picture and encodes a brand new file, so nothing carries across — including anything hidden in a container the tool does not recognise. Stripping keeps the original compressed image data and removes the known metadata blocks around it, which preserves quality exactly but can only remove what it can name. Rebuilding is the default because most people come here for the thorough option. Animated images are always stripped rather than rebuilt, because re-encoding one would leave you with a single frame.
How do I check the file really changed?
The tool shows a SHA-256 fingerprint of the original and of the cleaned copy, and puts both in the downloadable report. You can reproduce them on your own machine (for example with sha256sum or CertUtil) without trusting this page. The report also lists any metadata still detected after cleaning, because a cleaner that cannot report its own misses is not much use.
Can this remove GPS location from a photo?
Yes. If GPS metadata is present in a supported format, the Privacy Clean export removes it. The scan never shows your full coordinates in large text — they stay hidden behind an expand control so they are not exposed on a shared screen.
Does this remove AI labels on social media?
No. This is a privacy metadata cleaner. It does not bypass platform rules, invisible watermarks, classifiers, content credentials, or disclosure requirements, and it gives no guarantee about how any platform will label or process an image. Always follow platform rules.
What image types are supported?
JPG/JPEG, PNG and WebP are fully supported: scanned and cleaned. HEIC — what an iPhone saves by default — can always be SCANNED, because reading metadata does not require opening the picture. Cleaning one does, and today only Safari can open HEIC, so on other browsers you will see the full scan and a note explaining why the cleaned copy cannot be made there. A cleaned HEIC is always saved as a JPG, since no browser can write HEIC. TIFF and GIF are not supported — export those as JPG or PNG first.
What is actually hidden in a photo?
Usually more than people expect. EXIF holds the camera make and model, often a lens and serial number, the exact date and time, and — on a phone with location on — GPS coordinates good to a few metres. XMP holds editing history and software. IPTC, written by Photoshop, Lightroom and news workflows, can hold a photographer's name, employer, phone number, copyright line and a described location such as a city or street. Many files also carry a small embedded thumbnail, which is occasionally an older version of the picture that was cropped afterwards.
Can I clean lots of photos at once?
Yes. Drop several files and the tool switches to batch mode: it scans them all, then cleans several at a time in the background so the page stays responsive. Each file shows its own status, and its own reason if it fails. You can stop part-way, download any file on its own, or take everything as a single ZIP. A file that fails is never quietly dropped from the ZIP — it is listed, with the reason.
What are content credentials, and does this remove them?
Content credentials (C2PA) are a signed record of how an image was made and edited, stored in the file. Zerdly reports them and names where it found them — a JUMBF block in a JPEG, a caBX chunk in a PNG, a C2PA chunk in a WebP — and they are removed along with other metadata. It does not check whether the credentials are valid: this is a privacy cleaner, not an authenticity verifier. Removing them does not alter the image, and it does not affect any invisible watermark in the pixels.
Should I resize as well?
Often worth it. Advanced options can cap the longest side, which re-encodes the image and, as a side effect, discards detail somebody could otherwise zoom into — a reflection in a window, a name badge, a house number in the background. It is a separate question from metadata, and the tool never enlarges an image.
Does taking a screenshot remove metadata?
A screenshot does drop the original EXIF, because it is a new image made from what is on screen. But it also picks up whatever your own device adds, it re-compresses the picture, and it captures only what was displayed — so it is a lossy way to solve the problem and an unreliable one. Cleaning the file keeps the full resolution.
Does removing metadata change my photo's date in my photo library?
It can. Photo apps sort by the date stored inside the file, so a cleaned copy may sort by the day you cleaned it rather than the day you took it. That is the trade: the timestamp is exactly the sort of thing you are removing before sharing. Keep your original for your library and share the cleaned copy.
Does this work offline?
Yes. Everything runs in the page using the File, Canvas and Web Crypto APIs, so once the page has loaded you can disconnect entirely and it keeps working. That is also the simplest way to satisfy yourself that nothing is being sent anywhere.
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Cite this tool
Zerdly. (2026). Image Metadata Privacy Cleaner. Retrieved from https://www.zerdly.com/tools/image-metadata-privacy-cleaner/
Tip: Enter any known values to calculate the remaining results.
Designed to run locally in your browser. Tool inputs are not intentionally stored by Zerdly unless stated otherwise.