EXIF Metadata Viewer & Stripper
Drop a JPG to see what GPS, camera, and capture data it's leaking — then strip it in one click. Browser-only, nothing uploaded.
About this tool
WRRK's EXIF viewer parses the JPG metadata format directly in your browser. The tool walks the JFIF APP1 marker, reads the TIFF header, and extracts the most-commonly-leaked fields: camera make and model, lens, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, focal length, capture date, and GPS coordinates. Advanced fields (raw maker notes, embedded thumbnails, XMP) are not shown — the goal is privacy, not forensics.
When GPS coordinates are present, a red banner pops up with the exact latitude and longitude — because that's the field that most often turns into a real-world privacy incident. Stripping works by drawing the decoded image back to a Canvas and exporting a fresh JPG, which discards EXIF as a natural side-effect. It's slightly lossy (one re-compression pass) but invisible for normal sharing. For lossless stripping, use exiftool on your desktop.
How to view and strip EXIF (5 steps)
- Drop a JPG. Drag a JPG into the drop zone, or click to choose one. The tool reads the file in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
- Read the metadata table. If EXIF is present, the tool shows make, model, lens, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, focal length, capture date, and GPS in a clean table.
- Watch for the GPS warning. If GPS coordinates are present, a red privacy banner appears at the top with the lat/long. Anyone with this file can find where the photo was taken.
- Strip metadata. Click 'Strip metadata & download' to re-encode the image through Canvas — this discards all EXIF naturally and gives you a clean JPG to share.
- Verify the strip. Drop the stripped file back into the tool. The metadata table should be empty, confirming no GPS or camera data is leaking from the new file.
Frequently asked questions
+−Why is EXIF data a privacy risk?
EXIF metadata can contain GPS coordinates, the camera make and model, capture date and time, and even camera serial numbers. A photo posted online with intact EXIF can reveal your home address (if shot indoors), your routine (if posted regularly from the same place), and link multiple anonymous accounts back to the same camera serial. Stripping EXIF before posting is a basic privacy hygiene step.
+−Do social media platforms strip EXIF for me?
It varies. Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), and Snapchat strip almost all EXIF on upload. WhatsApp strips it on photos sent through the standard photo flow but keeps it on documents. Telegram does NOT strip EXIF when you send a file or 'send as document'. Email attachments, Reddit, and Discord generally keep EXIF intact. Don't trust the platform — strip it yourself before sharing.
+−How do I prevent EXIF from being saved in the first place?
iOS: Settings → Camera → Formats and Privacy → turn off Location Services for Camera. Android: Open Camera → settings gear → turn off 'Save location' or 'Geotag'. Most cameras have a similar option buried in the menu. This stops only GPS — make/model and capture time are still recorded by the sensor itself, but those leak much less than GPS.
+−Is EXIF stripping lossless or lossy?
This tool re-encodes your image through Canvas, which discards EXIF naturally — but it also re-compresses the JPG, so it's slightly lossy. For most uses (social uploads, email attachments) the quality loss is invisible. If you need lossless EXIF stripping, use a tool like 'exiftool' on your computer that edits the metadata segment directly.
+−What does GPS in EXIF actually mean?
GPS in EXIF stores latitude, longitude, and often altitude in degrees-minutes-seconds format with a precision of around 1–3 meters. Anyone with the file can plug those coordinates into Google Maps and see exactly where the photo was taken — your house, your office, your child's school. This is the single most dangerous EXIF field for privacy.
+−Can I strip EXIF but keep editing data?
This tool is binary — strip everything or strip nothing. If you need to keep your editing history (Photoshop layers, XMP edit data) while removing only GPS, you need a desktop tool like exiftool that supports per-field deletion. For most use cases, full strip is what you want.
+−Why does this only work on JPG files?
EXIF lives inside JPEG/JFIF APP1 markers, which are specific to the JPG format. PNG can carry XMP metadata in tEXt chunks, and HEIC has its own metadata format — both need different parsers. We focused on JPG because it's where the most-leaked EXIF (GPS, camera model) actually lives, and it's what almost all phones and cameras output by default.
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