How to Remove EXIF Data From a Photo

To remove EXIF data, drop the photo into the box above and press "Download clean copy". Before you download, the page shows what the photo contains, so you can see what you are removing.

  1. Add the photos. Drag them onto the box, click to choose them, or paste a copied image with Ctrl+V. Up to 50 at a time.
  2. Check what they reveal. Each photo gets a summary - location, serial numbers, names, date, camera - and a full list of every field. If there is a GPS position, you can open it on a map to see exactly how precise it is.
  3. Download the clean copies. One at a time, or all together as a ZIP file. The clean copies keep the original file name with -clean added.

What Photo Metadata Reveals

A phone photo usually carries a few dozen fields. These are the ones that matter for privacy:

  • Location. GPS coordinates, often accurate to a few metres - enough to find a home address from a photo taken in the garden.
  • Serial numbers. Many cameras record their own serial number, which links every photo back to the same device.
  • Names. The camera owner, artist or author name, and copyright lines set in a camera or editing app.
  • Date and time. When the picture was taken, to the second, often with the time zone.
  • Camera and lens. Make, model, lens and settings, plus "maker notes" in a format only the manufacturer documents.
  • Hidden preview. A small copy of the picture inside the file. Some apps don't update it after a crop, so it can still show the part you cut away.

Remove Metadata Without Losing Quality

Many tools remove EXIF data by opening the photo and saving it again, which compresses a JPG a second time. This one doesn't: it takes the file apart, leaves out the blocks that hold metadata, and copies the image data across byte for byte. The picture is pixel-for-pixel identical.

  • Kept: the image itself, its colour profile (so colours look the same) and the Orientation tag (so phone photos stay the right way up).
  • Removed: EXIF, GPS, XMP, IPTC, comments, maker notes, the hidden preview, and extra data some phones store after the image, such as depth maps.
  • HEIC, AVIF and TIFF can be checked but not cleaned in place. Convert a HEIC with the HEIC to JPG converter, which removes the metadata, or other formats with the image converter.

Remove Location on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac

  • iPhone: in the Share sheet, tap Options at the top and turn off Location before sending. To stop recording it at all: Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Location Services ▸ Camera ▸ Never.
  • Android: turn off location tags in the Camera app's settings. In Google Photos you can remove an estimated or recorded location from a photo's details.
  • Windows: right-click the file ▸ Properties ▸ Details ▸ Remove Properties and Personal Information.
  • Mac: open the photo in Preview ▸ Tools ▸ Show Inspector ▸ the (i) tab ▸ GPS ▸ Remove Location Info.

These remove the location, but usually leave the camera, date and serial number. The tool on this page removes all of it, on any device with a browser.

When Metadata Travels With a Photo

Many social networks strip metadata when they publish a photo. The original file keeps it, though, and it travels with email attachments, cloud folders, files sent "as a document" in messaging apps, marketplace listings and many forums and websites.

Photos shared through YourImageShare are cleaned automatically: location and other EXIF details are removed from every image before it is stored. To share a photo with a link, simply upload it - see photo hosting for how it works.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is EXIF data?
EXIF is information a camera or phone writes into a photo file: the date and time, the camera model and settings, often the exact GPS location, and sometimes the camera's serial number or the owner's name. It is invisible when you look at the picture, but anyone with the file can read it.
How do I remove EXIF data from a photo?
Drop the photo into the box on this page. You see everything it contains, then press "Download clean copy" to save a version without the metadata. Several photos at once work too, with a ZIP of all the clean copies.
Does removing EXIF data reduce quality?
No. For JPG, PNG and WebP the image data is copied byte for byte; only the metadata blocks are taken out. The picture is identical, just a little smaller.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. Reading and cleaning happen in your browser, so the photos never leave your device. You can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and it still works.
Why does the clean copy still have an Orientation tag?
Phones often store a photo sideways and use the Orientation tag to show it the right way up. Removing it would turn the picture sideways, so the clean copy keeps that one tag and nothing else.
Can I remove EXIF data from a HEIC photo?
HEIC files can be checked here, and to clean one, convert it with the HEIC to JPG converter, which removes the metadata by default.
Does YourImageShare remove EXIF data from uploads?
Yes. Location data and other EXIF details are removed from every image before it is stored, so photos shared through YourImageShare don't carry them.