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Delete Image Metadata

Remove Metadata From JPEG Images

The same .jpeg file can carry wildly different metadata depending on what made it. Here is how to tell which source you are dealing with — and clean it.

  • .jpg
  • .jpeg
Free
No account, no limit on files
0
Files uploaded — processing is local
2 formats
Lossless — pixels never re-encoded
Processed in your browser
Ready

Reading a JPEG's history from its metadata

Two JPEGs of the same size can carry completely different records, and the pattern tells you where the file came from. This is useful in practice: it tells you what you are about to remove, and whether the file has been through a service that already stripped part of it.

  • Straight from a phone: full EXIF including GPS, device model, a maker-note block and an embedded thumbnail. Often 20–50 KB of metadata.
  • Exported from Lightroom or Photoshop: EXIF from the camera plus a large XMP block with edit history and a Software tag naming the version.
  • Scanned document: no GPS, but a Software tag naming the scanner driver, a device model and a creation timestamp.
  • Downloaded from a social network: usually EXIF-free but often carrying a re-encoder's signature, an ICC profile and sometimes an XMP block the platform added.
  • Received over a messaging app: frequently metadata-free after re-compression — unless it was sent as a file or document, in which case it is untouched.
  • Saved from a screenshot: no camera data, but a device name, a colour profile and a fresh timestamp.

Why 'the platform strips it' is not a plan

It is tempting to rely on the fact that most large platforms re-encode uploads and discard metadata in the process. Two things make that unreliable. First, the behaviour differs by platform, by upload path, and by file type — the same service may strip metadata from a photo posted to a feed and preserve it in a file attached to a message. Second, whatever the platform does afterwards, your original file reached it intact.

Cleaning locally inverts that: the file that leaves your device is already clean, regardless of what the recipient's service does with it.

JPEG's quirks worth knowing before you clean

JPEG allows a segment to appear more than once, which is why a file can contain two APP1 segments — one for EXIF, one for XMP — and why removing 'the EXIF' is not the same as removing all metadata. Large ICC profiles and C2PA records are also split across multiple segments, and all the parts have to go together.

The tool handles this by classifying every segment it encounters rather than looking for a fixed list, so duplicated, split and unrecognised vendor segments are all accounted for in the report.

What this tool does

  • Shows every APP segment, including duplicates and unrecognised vendor blocks
  • Handles multi-segment ICC and C2PA records as a unit
  • Lossless removal, identical to the JPG page's engine

What it does not do

  • Cannot recover metadata a platform already removed from a downloaded file
  • Does not decode proprietary maker-note contents, though it removes them

Remove Metadata From JPEG Images

The same .jpeg file can carry wildly different metadata depending on what made it. Here is how to tell which source you are dealing with — and clean it.

Open the tool

Reviewed and updated . Behaviour described on this page is covered by the project’s automated tests.

Frequently asked questions

Should I use .jpg or .jpeg?

They are the same format. Use whichever extension your software produces — this tool detects the format from the file's contents rather than its name.

Why does my downloaded JPEG have no EXIF but still shows metadata?

Platforms that strip EXIF often add their own records — an ICC profile, an XMP block, or a comment from their encoder. That is metadata too, and it is removed here.

Does a JPEG sent on WhatsApp still have GPS data?

Normally not when sent as a photo, because the app re-compresses it. Sent as a document, the original file is delivered unchanged, GPS included.

Can metadata tell someone which camera took a photo?

Yes — make and model are standard EXIF tags, and some cameras also record a body serial number, which identifies a specific unit rather than a model.

Can I tell where a JPEG came from after cleaning?

Not from the file. A cleaned JPEG carries no source information, which is the point.

Does the tool handle CMYK JPEGs?

Yes. The Adobe colour transform marker is preserved deliberately, because removing it can invert colours in CMYK images.

Why do some JPEGs have two APP1 segments?

One holds EXIF, the other holds XMP. Removing only the first leaves the editing history behind, which is why both are handled.

Is a .jpe or .jfif file supported?

Yes, if it is really a JPEG — the format is detected from the file's contents rather than its extension.

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