EXIF Remover — Remove Photo Metadata Locally (Files Never Leave Your Browser)

What this scrubber does

Remove EXIF and file metadata (location, camera, author, thumbnails, PDF info) entirely in your browser — no uploads, instant preview, batch support.

How to use (3 steps)

1. Drag & drop or choose files (JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, PDF). Multi-select supported.
2. Preview what’s inside: human-friendly groups (Location exposed? Camera Make/Model? Author? Thumbnails?) plus expandable raw tags.
3. Click “Remove metadata” → download cleaned files (single files or ZIP for batches). Progress shown for large files.

What we do and what we won’t do (brief principles & formulas — traceable to EXIF/PDF specs)

• Files never leave your device: all parsing, preview and scrubbing run entirely in your browser; no file bytes or metadata are sent to our servers (see "Does the tool upload my photos?" in FAQ).

GPS coordinates (EXIF GPS) — how we interpret and display them

decimal_degrees = sign * (deg + minutes / 60 + seconds / 3600)
where deg = d_num/d_den, minutes = m_num/m_den, seconds = s_num/s_den, and sign = +1 for N/E, -1 for S/W. (Source: CIPA EXIF spec and company calculation rules.)

• Parsing rules we follow: denominator == 0 => mark as malformed (do not coerce); missing GPSLatitudeRef/GPSLongitudeRef => show as "ambiguous direction" (do not assume N/E); minutes/seconds >= 60 => flag as suspicious/malformed. Display precision default: 6 decimal places (≈11 cm); numeric checks ensure latitude ∈ [-90,90], longitude ∈ [-180,180].
• Acceptance testing: numeric results match canonical vectors within 1e-6 (per test vectors in our calculation brief).

Altitude (EXIF GPSAltitude)

altitude_meters = (alt_num / alt_den) * (GPSAltitudeRef === 1 ? -1 : +1)
(Denominator==0 or missing GPSAltitudeRef is flagged as ambiguous.)

Images and container specifics

• JPEG: remove APP1 EXIF segment (tags, embedded thumbnails when removable) and related XMP where possible.
• PNG/WebP: remove textual metadata chunks (tEXt/iTXt/zTXt) and format-specific key/value fields the parser supports.
• HEIC/HEIF: EXIF may be inside an 'Exif' box in ISOBMFF; we parse and remove where the browser-side parser can safely do so and will surface any unsupported cases.

PDF

We remove fields we can in-browser from the Document Information Dictionary (Info dict): /Title, /Author, /Subject, /Keywords, /Creator, /Producer, /CreationDate, /ModDate. Many PDFs also include XMP (XML metadata); removing Info dict alone may not remove XMP — we will report whether XMP remained. If deep XMP structures, embedded objects, or attachments can’t be fully cleaned in-browser, the UI will state that explicitly.

Safety-first parsing

When a field is malformed, unsupported, or cannot be fully removed client-side, the file's processing result will be one of: Cleaned (list of removed keys), Unsupported (why), Error (malformed tags), or No metadata found — shown per file.

An image metadata scrubber, not only an EXIF remover

“EXIF” is the metadata block inside photos from cameras and phones, but a metadata scrubbing tool has to reach further than that. This scrubber also clears PNG text chunks (tEXt/iTXt/zTXt) that screenshot and editing software writes, WebP EXIF and XMP chunks, HEIC/HEIF metadata items from iPhone photos, and the PDF document-information fields that reveal author names and editing software. Whether you call it an image metadata scrubber, a photo scrubber, or an EXIF cleaner, the job is the same: show you what identifying fields are inside the file, remove the ones that can be removed in the browser, and say plainly which ones could not.

Typical moments to scrub: before listing photos on a marketplace (camera serial and GPS tags travel with the image), before sharing screenshots from a work machine (PNG text chunks can carry usernames and tool names), and before submitting a PDF whose Info dictionary still names its original author.

Scrubber vs. scrambler: removing metadata, not faking it

A metadata scrambler overwrites fields with false values — a fake capture date, a random camera model. This tool does not do that: it is a scrubber, meaning fields are removed, and the pre/post report shows exactly what was deleted. Removal is also the safer default — scrambled values can contradict other traces in the file and draw attention, while an absent field is just absent.

FAQ

1. What metadata does this EXIF remover remove?

   We remove EXIF tags (camera make/model, capture time, GPS tags, author, software), embedded thumbnails when the parser can remove them, PNG text chunks (tEXt/iTXt/zTXt), WebP EXIF and XMP chunks, HEIC/HEIF EXIF and XMP items (overwritten in place, so the file keeps its original size), and PDF Info dictionary fields (/Title, /Author, /Creator, /Producer, /Keywords, /CreationDate, /ModDate) plus uncompressed XMP packets. Anything we cannot read or clear — a compressed PDF metadata stream, for example — is listed under "Not everything could be cleaned" instead of being reported as removed. We report exactly which fields were removed and which remain.

2. Does the tool upload my photos to a server?

   No. All parsing, preview and scrubbing happen entirely in your browser. File bytes and metadata are never sent to our servers. You can verify this by checking your browser’s network panel (QA tests include a network monitor to confirm zero file-content transfers).

3. Will removing EXIF strip embedded thumbnails or location history in the file?

   We remove embedded thumbnails when they are stored in removable EXIF or standard thumbnail segments. Some formats may keep thumbnails or other embedded objects in places the browser parser cannot safely rewrite — those cases are flagged and shown in the per-file result. Location tags (GPSLatitude/GPSLongitude/GPSAltitude) are removed when present and valid; malformed or ambiguous GPS tags are surfaced for user decision.

4. Which file formats are supported? What if a format is unsupported?

   Supported: JPEG (JPG), PNG, WebP, HEIC/HEIF (where browser parser support exists) and PDF (Info dict). If we encounter an unsupported or partially supported flavor of a format, the file will be marked "Unsupported" and we will not silently pass it through — you’ll get a clear explanation.

5. Can I scrub many files at once and download them?

   Yes. You can batch-select files; cleaned files are provided individually or as a ZIP for download. Progress indicators show per-file status. Files are cleaned one at a time on the page itself, so a very large batch keeps the page busy while it works.

6. What about large files — will the browser freeze?

   Each file is read into memory and cleaned on the page's main thread, so a very large file can make the page unresponsive for a moment while it is processed. A progress indicator shows how far along the batch is.

7. Will the cleaned file look the same? Is image quality preserved?

   In most cases we remove only metadata and preserve the original image bytes/visual quality. Some containers (or removal of complex XMP/box structures) may require remuxing or rewriting; when that could alter file bytes we state it in the result so you can inspect before downloading.

8. How can I prove metadata was removed?

   After scrubbing we show a local pre/post report with the exact raw keys and original values that were removed. You can view it in the UI and download it as a local JSON/plaintext audit — nothing in that report leaves your device.

9. Is this an image metadata scrubber or just an EXIF remover?

   Both. EXIF is only one metadata container: this scrubbing tool also clears PNG text chunks, WebP EXIF/XMP chunks, HEIC/HEIF metadata items, and PDF document-information fields — the identifying data that lives outside classic EXIF. The per-file report lists every field it found, whatever container it came from.

10. Can it scramble or fake metadata instead of removing it?

    No. This is a scrubber, not a scrambler: fields are removed, never overwritten with invented values. If you need a file to carry false metadata, this tool will not do it — and note that scrambled values can contradict other traces in a file, while a removed field is simply gone.

Transparency & safety notes

• No uploads, ever: this product differentiator is central — server-side fallbacks are not used.
• No silent pass-through: unsupported or malformed files are flagged, not silently returned unchanged.
• Local audit trail: pre/post report and per-file status let users confirm what was removed.