Metadata Viewer: See Everything Hidden in Your Photos
Before you decide whether a photo is safe to share, you need to see what it's carrying. This viewer reads the hidden metadata in any JPG, PNG or WebP and lays it out in plain language — camera, timestamps, software history, and the one that surprises people most: the GPS position, on a map.
If you don't like what you see, the clean-up button is right there.
Drop a photo to inspect it — viewing and cleaning are both free
What the viewer shows you
The report starts with the camera: manufacturer, model, and lens — enough to tell a photo from an iPhone 15 apart from one taken with a Sony mirrorless. Then timestamps: when the photo was captured, and sometimes separately when it was digitised or last modified, which can reveal that a 'just taken' photo is actually months old. Then software traces: files that passed through Photoshop, Lightroom or an export pipeline usually say so.
Finally, location. If the file carries GPS coordinates, the viewer highlights them prominently with a map link, because this is the field with real-world consequences — it can pin a photo to a street address.
Reading a metadata report like an investigator
Metadata is how photos get verified — and how people get found. A timestamp that contradicts a story, a camera model that doesn't match a claimed source, an editing trace on a supposedly untouched image: these are the standard checks that fact-checkers, moderators, and buyers on second-hand marketplaces run every day.
Run the same checks on your own photos before someone else does. The question isn't whether your photo has metadata — nearly every camera-original file does — but whether you're comfortable with what it says.
Why this viewer needs no upload
Inspecting a file for privacy problems by uploading it to a stranger's server is a contradiction. This viewer parses your photo with JavaScript running locally in your browser tab: the EXIF, XMP and text blocks are decoded on your machine and displayed only to you. Nothing is transmitted, logged, or retained anywhere — close the tab and the report is gone.
The same page also fixes what it finds: one click produces a copy with every metadata block stripped, pixels untouched.
Formats and what to expect from each
JPEGs from cameras and phones are the richest — full EXIF, often GPS, frequently XMP and IPTC on edited files. PNGs are usually screenshots or graphics, which rarely carry EXIF but often contain text chunks and timestamps written by software. WebP files, common on the modern web, can embed both EXIF and XMP. The viewer reads all three; if a file shows an empty report, it genuinely carries nothing this tool can find or strip.
Frequently asked questions
Is this metadata viewer really free?
Yes — viewing and cleaning are both free, with no account and no watermarks. The tool runs in your browser, so there's no per-file server cost that would force a paywall.
Are my photos uploaded to a server?
No — photos are cleaned entirely inside your browser tab using JavaScript. You can verify this yourself: open DevTools, switch to the Network panel, and watch it while you clean a photo — zero file transfers. Only non-image formats (PDF, video, audio) use our cleaning server: encrypted in transit, processed immediately, deleted immediately, never stored.
Why does my photo show no metadata?
Screenshots, images saved from social media, and graphics exported by design tools usually carry little or no EXIF — either it was never written, or the platform stripped it on upload. Camera originals are the files that typically carry the full record.
Can I view metadata on HEIC photos?
Not yet — HEIC support is planned. For now, export the photo as JPEG (on iPhone: share it to Files, or set Settings → Camera → Formats to Most Compatible) and inspect the JPEG.