Clean your files, before you share
Method
Drop a photo or PDF here
JPEG · PNG · HEIC · WebP · TIFF · AVIF · PDF
Drop a file above to scan its metadata.
Add a file to get started.
Estimate only, not legal or tax advice. Figures are based on the rules as published; your situation may differ. Confirm with the source below.
Rules last checked September 17, 2026 against exiftool.org
What metadata hides in your files
Every photo you take with a smartphone embeds invisible data: GPS coordinates precise to within a few metres, the make and model of your phone, the lens, the serial number, and the exact second the shutter clicked. Screenshots inherit your desktop resolution and software version. PDFs carry author names, editing software, creation dates, and sometimes the full path of the file on your machine. All of this travels with the file when you upload it to social media, attach it to an email, or submit it to a form, and none of it is visible when you look at the image or read the document.
How the scrubber works
The scrubber reads your file in the browser, never on a server. For images, it uses exifr, a lightweight JavaScript library that parses EXIF (camera technical data), IPTC (journalistic metadata), and XMP (Adobe extensible metadata) from JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, TIFF, and AVIF files. For PDFs, it reads the document-information dictionary directly from the raw bytes and removes entries you choose. After you review what was found, and toggle any items you want to keep, the file is re-encoded through the browser\u2019s canvas (for images) or string-cleaned (for PDFs), producing a new download with only the metadata you allowed. The original file never leaves your machine.
A worked example
Take a JPEG photo of your front door taken on an iPhone. The file silently carries your exact GPS coordinates, the phone model (\u201CiPhone 15 Pro\u201D), the lens, iOS version, the local timestamp, and possibly keywords or a caption if you edited it in Photos.app. Drop it into the scrubber, review the report (typically 40 to 70 metadata items), keep nothing (or only the timestamp), and download the cleaned copy. The image looks identical, same resolution and same colours, but the hidden data sheet is gone.
What metadata is hidden in my photos?+
GPS coordinates, camera model, lens, serial numbers, the exact time the photo was taken, software used to edit it, and more. All silently embedded in the file.
Why should I strip metadata before sharing?+
Photos shared online can reveal your home address (GPS), your devices, and your routines. PDFs leak author names, software versions, and edit history. Stripping protects your privacy.
Do you upload my files to a server?+
No. Everything happens in your browser. The file never leaves your device. That is the whole point.
What file types are supported?+
JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, TIFF, and AVIF for photos. PDF for documents. More formats will be added over time.
Is stripping metadata legal?+
Yes. You own your files. Removing metadata from your own photos and documents before sharing is both legal and good privacy practice.
What is the difference between EXIF, IPTC, and XMP?+
EXIF is technical camera data (GPS, settings, serial numbers). IPTC is journalistic metadata (keywords, captions, credits). XMP is Adobe’s extensible metadata platform (edit history, rights). This tool finds and strips all three.