- GPS coordinates and location references
- Camera and device identity
- Capture and editing dates
- EXIF, XMP and IPTC descriptions
- Comments, copyright and embedded thumbnails
PHOTO METADATA REMOVER
Remove metadata from photos
Photos can reveal where they were taken, which device created them, when they were edited, and who owns the file. KillMetadata inspects the actual image container, shows what it found, creates a new copy, and checks that copy before you save it.
THE CLEANING PLAN
Remove what exposes you. Keep what makes the file work.
Every field is shown before the rewrite and classified by action and coverage.
- Encoded image pixels without recompression
- Orientation needed for correct display
- ICC color profiles and HDR information
- Transparency and animation when the format supports them
- Visible faces, text and landmarks
- AI-inferred location from the image itself
- Cloud-library copies and social-media uploads
- Filesystem dates and extended attributes
FORMAT DETAILS
Different containers, different rules.
Choose the guide that matches the file people actually call it.
| File type | Supported removal | Preserved | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPG / JPEG | EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP, comments, thumbnails | Compressed image data, orientation, ICC | View guide → |
| PNG / APNG | EXIF and descriptive text/time chunks | Pixels, alpha, animation, color | View guide → |
| WebP | Supported EXIF and XMP carriers | Encoded image data, alpha and animation | View guide → |
| TIFF / TIF / BigTIFF | Supported EXIF, GPS, XMP, IPTC and camera fields | Strips or tiles, orientation and ICC | View guide → |
| HEIC / HEIF | Supported Exif, XMP, names and thumbnails | Coded HEVC image data and functional properties | View guide → |
| AVIF | Supported Exif, XMP, names and thumbnails | Coded AV1 image data and functional properties | View guide → |
WHY THE ENGINE MATTERS
EXIF is only one layer of photo metadata
A photo may hold EXIF camera records, GPS sub-IFDs, IPTC publishing fields, XMP packets, text chunks, comments, or container-specific boxes. The scanner reports supported carriers by their real container location instead of trusting the filename; some image EXIF is intentionally shown as one removable block.
JPEG, PNG/APNG, WebP, GIF and TIFF/BigTIFF are rewritten without recompressing image data. HEIC/HEIF and AVIF remove supported container metadata and hash-check coded image bytes, but always finish partial because embedded HEVC/AV1 codec metadata units are not parsed.
Explore the complete verification methodology →BEFORE YOU SHARE
A four-step privacy check.
Metadata cleaning is one part of a safe sharing workflow.
- 01Review detected EXIF, XMP, IPTC and text carriers
- 02Confirm orientation and color data are marked Preserve
- 03Create the cleaned copy
- 04Save only after the separate verification result
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Know the boundary before you clean.
No vague “100% clean” claim.
Are my files uploaded?
No. The cleaner runs in your browser, has no upload endpoint, and only enables the file picker after its processor assets are available locally.
Is the original file changed?
No. KillMetadata reads the original and creates a separately named cleaned copy. It never overwrites the source file.
Does removing metadata reduce photo quality?
For supported JPEG, PNG, WebP and GIF files, the encoded image payload is copied rather than re-encoded, so metadata removal does not introduce generation loss.
Does this remove location from every photo?
It removes supported embedded GPS and location fields. It cannot remove visible clues such as street signs or landmarks, and it does not edit copies already stored elsewhere.
Runs locally in your browserReady to inspect your file?
Inspect this file type The picker opens only after offline protection is active.