Remove Metadata from Your Files
What is metadata removal?
Files you share often carry more than you can see. A photo can hold the GPS location of your home, your phone's model and serial number and the exact time it was taken; a document can hold author names, company details and its edit history.
Metadata removal strips those hidden tags and gives you a clean copy. The pixels and the content stay exactly the same, so there is no loss of quality. It works on photos, videos, PDFs and office documents, it is free, and the cleaned file is ready to share safely.
- GPS location
- Camera serial and device
- Author and owner names
- Dates and edit history
- Embedded thumbnails
Metadata removal API
Clean files automatically with the REST API. Send a file or a URL with your API key and get back a download link to a copy without EXIF, GPS or other hidden metadata.
- Upload a file, URL or base64
- Download link to the clean file
- API key authentication
- Same engine as ExifTools.com
~ — zsh — 80×24
➜ ~ curl -X POST https://exiftools.com/api/v1/remove \
-H "X-API-Key: $EXIFTOOLS_KEY" \
-F "file=@IMG_2041.jpg" | jq
{
"success": true,
"status": "completed",
"uuid": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
"downloadUrl": "https://exiftools.com/download-cleaned/123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000"
}
➜ ~ Frequently Asked Questions
What is metadata and why should I remove it?
Metadata is hidden information embedded in your files, including EXIF data in photos (camera model, GPS location, date/time), document properties (author name, company, edit history), and other sensitive details. Removing metadata protects your privacy and prevents unintentional information disclosure when sharing files online.
What types of files can I clean?
We support hundreds of file formats including:
- Images (JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, WebP, HEIC)
- RAW Formats (Canon, Nikon, Sony)
- Videos (MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV)
- Documents (PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX)
- Audio (MP3, WAV, FLAC)
- And many more formats
Is my data secure?
Your files are sent over an encrypted connection and processed on our servers. The uploaded file and its cleaned copy can be downloaded for about 24 hours, then they are deleted automatically. Results pages created from files you clean are never shown in search engines, and you can ask for one to be deleted with "Report this page".
Will removing metadata affect my file quality?
No. Removing metadata only strips the hidden information tags and does not affect the actual content, quality, or resolution of your images or documents. Your files will look exactly the same but without the embedded metadata.
Is there a file size limit?
You can process files up to 2 GB each. Both single file uploads and bulk uploads are supported, making it easy to clean multiple files at once.
Can I use this for commercial purposes?
Yes. Our metadata removal tool is free for both personal and commercial use. For high-volume commercial applications, we recommend using our API which provides better performance, higher rate limits, and dedicated support.
What happens to GPS location data?
All GPS and location data embedded in your files is completely removed. This includes latitude, longitude, altitude, and any other location-based information that cameras and smartphones automatically add to photos.
How do I integrate this into my application?
Use our simple REST API to integrate metadata removal into your application. Upload files via a POST request and receive a cleaned version back. Check out our API documentation for code examples in multiple programming languages.
Can I batch process multiple files?
Yes! You can upload and process multiple files at once using our bulk upload feature. Simply select all the files you want to clean, and they will be processed together for your convenience.
How can I check that the metadata was removed?
Upload the cleaned file to our metadata viewer. Only basic details such as the file type, size and dimensions should remain; camera, date, GPS and author information should be gone.
Do social networks remove metadata for me?
Some do, partly. Most social networks strip location and camera data from photos they publish, but messaging apps keep it when you send a photo as a file or document, and email, cloud storage and file transfers keep everything. Removing metadata yourself before sharing is the only way to be sure.
Why was my file returned unchanged?
A few formats can be read but not safely rewritten. Rather than risk damaging the file, we return it as it was, marked "Returned unchanged", and its metadata is still inside. Converting it to a common format such as JPEG, PNG or PDF and cleaning that copy usually works.
How long are cleaned files kept?
Cleaned files can be downloaded for about 24 hours. After that, the uploaded file and its cleaned copy are deleted automatically, so download your files right away.