Question 1

What is EXIF?

Accepted Answer

EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is metadata embedded in photos by cameras and phones. It can include the date and time, camera model, lens, exposure settings (ISO, aperture, shutter speed), and sometimes GPS location or serial numbers. It's useful for organising and editing, but it can also reveal more than you want when you share a photo.

Question 2

What can ImgMeta.app do?

Accepted Answer

Three things: (1) View—see all EXIF data in an image. (2) Edit—change fields like author, copyright, or date in JPEGs. (3) Remove—strip EXIF (e.g. GPS, device info) before sharing. View works for several formats; edit and remove are mainly for JPEG, with some options for PNG/WebP and others.

Question 3

Are my photos uploaded to your servers?

Accepted Answer

No. All processing happens in your browser. We don't upload, store, or see your images. Your photos never leave your device.

Question 4

Is ImgMeta.app free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The tool is free to use. We may show ads later to keep it that way; if we do, we'll be clear about it in our privacy and cookie notices.

Question 5

Can EXIF reveal my home address?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If the photo was taken with GPS or location services enabled, EXIF can store precise coordinates (latitude and longitude). Those can be used to find the exact location—including a home address—on a map. Many people strip GPS from photos before sharing to avoid revealing where they live.

Question 6

Do social platforms remove EXIF?

Accepted Answer

It depends. Many platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X) strip or alter EXIF when you upload, partly for privacy and storage. Don't rely on it: some only remove GPS but keep other fields; others may keep everything. To be safe, remove EXIF yourself before sharing.

Question 7

Is removing EXIF reversible?

Accepted Answer

No. Once you remove EXIF and save the image, that metadata is gone. We don't keep a copy. If you need the original with EXIF, keep a backup before cleaning.

Question 8

Does EXIF affect image quality?

Accepted Answer

EXIF itself is metadata—it doesn't change the pixels or resolution of the image. So having EXIF doesn't make the image look better or worse. However, if you edit or remove EXIF and the tool re-encodes the image (e.g. saving as JPEG again), that re-encoding can cause a small quality loss. We use high quality settings to minimise this.

Question 9

How do I remove EXIF with ImgMeta.app?

Accepted Answer

Go to the Check (View & Remove) page, upload your photo, choose a cleaning option (e.g. Remove GPS Only for just location, or Full Clean for all metadata), then click Clean and download. All processing happens in your browser.

Question 10

Which image formats are supported?

Accepted Answer

For viewing EXIF: JPEG, PNG, HEIC, AVIF, WebP, TIFF, and GIF. For editing EXIF: JPEG only. For removing EXIF: JPEG, PNG, and WebP (with different options); HEIC, AVIF, TIFF, and GIF can be processed by redrawing and exporting as JPEG.

Question 11

How is EXIF read and processed?

Accepted Answer

EXIF is read entirely in your browser using JavaScript. The image file is opened locally—we don't send it to any server. The tool parses the metadata (camera info, dates, GPS, etc.) and shows it to you. When you edit or remove EXIF, that also happens in memory on your device; only the final image you choose to download is generated locally.

Question 12

What is "Image Security Level" / sensitive information?

Accepted Answer

We scan the EXIF for data that many people consider private: GPS location, device serial numbers, author or copyright text. If we find any, we label the image (e.g. "Sensitive information (3)") so you can decide whether to remove it before sharing. It's just a heads-up—we don't upload or store anything.

Question 13

Why can I only edit or remove EXIF in JPEG?

Accepted Answer

Editing and removing EXIF in a way that keeps the image intact relies on libraries that work with JPEG structure. Other formats (e.g. PNG, HEIC) store metadata differently; we support viewing and, where possible, removal (e.g. PNG/WebP cleanup or export as JPEG for HEIC).

Question 14

Does removing EXIF reduce image quality?

Accepted Answer

For JPEG: removing EXIF and re-saving can cause a tiny quality loss because the image is re-encoded (we use high quality settings). For PNG/WebP, metadata can often be stripped without re-encoding the image, so quality stays the same.

Question 15

Why can't I edit GPS in the editor?

Accepted Answer

We keep GPS read-only to avoid location spoofing. You can see the coordinates and remove them on the Remove page, but we don't allow changing them in the editor. If you need to strip location before sharing, use the Remove tool.

Question 16

Why is HEIC (and some other formats) converted to JPEG when removing EXIF?

Accepted Answer

HEIC, AVIF, TIFF, and GIF store metadata in ways that our current browser-side tools can't clean without re-encoding the image. The most reliable way we can remove all EXIF is to redraw the image and export it as JPEG. So you get a clean image without metadata; the trade-off is the output format is JPEG. For JPEG, PNG, and WebP we can often remove metadata without changing format.

Question 17

What's the difference between cleaning JPEG and cleaning PNG/WebP?

Accepted Answer

For JPEG we can remove specific EXIF chunks (e.g. GPS only, or device info) and keep the rest, and the image stays JPEG. For PNG and WebP we strip all metadata chunks (eXIf, tIME, text chunks, etc.) in one go; the image stays PNG or WebP and isn't re-encoded, so quality is unchanged. We don't offer "GPS only" for PNG/WebP—it's all or nothing for metadata.

Question 18

What does "Full Clean (export as JPG)" mean for HEIC/AVIF etc.?

Accepted Answer

For HEIC, AVIF, TIFF, and GIF the browser can't edit the file's metadata directly. So we draw the image onto a canvas and export it as JPEG—that way all original metadata is dropped and you get a single, clean JPEG. The image content is preserved; only the format and metadata change.

Question 19

How many images can I batch clean at once?

Accepted Answer

You can add up to 20 images per batch. Each file is limited to 50MB. If the total size is very large, we show a warning—processing may be slower. All processing happens in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Question 20

Why is the result a ZIP file?

Accepted Answer

Batch clean processes multiple images and gives you one download. The ZIP contains all successfully cleaned images with their original (or cleaned) filenames. Failed items are not included; you can see which ones in the list and retry single images on the Check page if needed.

Question 21

Can I use ImgMeta.app on my phone or tablet?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in a modern mobile browser. The site works on phones and tablets. Upload and process as usual. Very large files may be slower on some devices.

Question 22

How do I contact you?

Accepted Answer

Use the contact details in the footer or on the About page. We'll do our best to reply.