ExifZero What is EXIF data?
By the ExifZero team · Updated
Short answer: EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a standard for metadata that cameras and phones write into each photo: the device make and model, lens and exposure settings, the date and time, the orientation, a small preview thumbnail and — when location is on — the GPS coordinates where the photo was taken. It travels inside the file, so anyone you send the original photo to can read it. You can view it and remove it without changing the picture.
What EXIF records
| Group | Typical fields | Privacy risk |
|---|---|---|
| Device | Make, model, lens, software and firmware version | Low on its own; identifies what you own |
| Exposure | Shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length, flash, white balance | None |
| Time | Date and time taken, often with the time-zone offset | Shows when you were somewhere |
| GPS | Latitude, longitude, altitude, direction, speed | High: can reveal your home or workplace |
| Identity | Body and lens serial numbers, owner name, artist, copyright | High: links photos to one person or device |
| Image | Orientation, resolution, color space, embedded thumbnail | The thumbnail can show what you cropped out |
Where EXIF is stored
EXIF uses the TIFF tag structure: numbered fields grouped into directories (IFDs) for the main image, camera settings, GPS and the thumbnail. In a
JPEG it sits in an APP1 segment near the start of the file; HEIC, WebP and PNG have their own EXIF containers. Because it is a separate
block, it can be removed without touching the compressed picture data.
The standard is maintained by the Japanese camera industry associations CIPA and JEITA. It first appeared in the mid-1990s and is still updated; recent versions add fields such as UTF-8 text.
EXIF, XMP and IPTC
- EXIF — technical data written by the camera at capture time.
- XMP — an extensible XML format from Adobe used by editors such as Lightroom and Photoshop. It can hold edit history, ratings, keywords and, increasingly, AI labels.
- IPTC — descriptive fields used by news and stock photography: caption, creator, copyright, location names and the digital source type that marks AI-generated images. Today it is usually stored inside XMP.
A single photo often carries all three, plus an ICC color profile and, for AI images, C2PA Content Credentials. Removing only EXIF can leave the others behind.
How to view EXIF data
- In any browser: drop the photo into the EXIF viewer. It reads EXIF, XMP, IPTC and more, shows GPS on a map link, and runs on your device.
- Windows: right-click the file → Properties → Details.
- Mac: open the photo in Preview → Tools → Show Inspector, then the info tab.
- iPhone: open the photo in Photos and swipe up or tap the info button.
- Android: open the photo in Google Photos and swipe up for details.
Built-in viewers usually show a summary only. They rarely show the serial numbers, the embedded thumbnail or XMP fields.
Do websites remove EXIF?
Many large social networks strip location from public posts, but the rules differ by site and change over time. Email attachments, cloud-drive links, many forums and marketplaces, and messaging apps sending “original quality” or files usually keep EXIF intact. The safe habit is to clean photos before you share them, rather than relying on each site's policy.
How to remove EXIF data
The EXIF remover cuts the EXIF, XMP and IPTC blocks out of JPEG, PNG, WebP and GIF files without re-encoding, so the picture stays identical, and it can clean a batch at once. It keeps the color profile and the rotation flag by default because neither identifies you. For phone and desktop settings, see how to remove location from photos.