What a photo can say about you
A photo file holds more than the picture. The camera or the phone writes notes next to it, called metadata: where the photo was taken, when, and with what. Editing apps add their own. None of it shows in the picture, but anyone who gets the file can read it.
| What is stored | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Location | GPS coordinates, often accurate to a few metres | Shows where you live, work or spend your holidays |
| Date and time | The second the photo was taken | Shows when you were there, and when you were not at home |
| Camera or phone | Make, model, lens, sometimes a serial number | Can link photos that were taken with the same device |
| Author and software | Names, copyright notes, the app a photo was edited in | Can show who made the picture and how |
| Hidden preview | A small copy of the picture inside the file | Does not always follow later edits, such as a crop |
What is removed and what stays
The clean copy holds the picture without the data stored around it. EXIF data with the location, the date and the camera is removed. So are XMP and IPTC blocks with names, titles and keywords, comments, hidden previews, the notes of the camera maker, text stored in a PNG and anything a file carries after the end of its picture. Two things stay, because the picture needs them to look the same: the colour profile, and the single field that says which way up the picture is.
Does removing metadata change the photo?
No. The tool does not open the picture and save it again, which would compress a JPG a second time. It cuts the metadata out of the file and copies the picture as it is, so the clean copy is the same picture, pixel for pixel, at the same size. The file gets a little lighter. One thing to know: extras that some phones store after the picture, such as the short video of a moving photo or an extra layer for HDR screens, are removed as well.
Do social networks remove metadata?
Most large social networks remove the location and the camera data from the photos they show to others, though they may keep it for themselves. Messaging apps usually do the same for a photo sent the ordinary way, but a photo sent as a file or a document arrives with everything in it. Email, cloud links, many forums and your own website pass the file on as it is. Removing the metadata yourself is the only way to be sure, whatever happens to the photo next.
When to keep metadata
Metadata is useful as long as it stays with you. The date keeps an archive in order, the location puts your photos on a map, and the author and copyright fields say whose work a picture is. So keep your originals as they are and share the clean copies. The tool never changes the file you add: it gives you a new one.