Remove EXIF / GPS Metadata from Photos
Strip location, timestamps and camera info before uploading to marketplace, Instagram, or your blog.
Photos are never sent to a server. EXIF inspection and removal both run entirely in your browser. The site operator cannot see your photo or its location data.
PNG / WebP are lossless (slider ignored).
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Why this matters
| Situation | Risk |
|---|---|
| Marketplace listings (eBay, Mercari, Craigslist) | GPS in product photos has repeatedly leaked seller home addresses — theft and stalking cases on record |
| Instagram, Twitter, blog posts | Pattern of GPS across photos reveals daily routine (home, office, children's school) |
| Resume / dating profile photos | Capture timestamp and camera model expose freshness and authenticity |
| Anonymous forums (Reddit, 4chan) | Single accidental upload can deanonymize months of pseudonymous posting |
| Discord, direct file shares | Original EXIF preserved verbatim — recipient can pull GPS |
| Legal evidence photos | Conversely: you may want to KEEP EXIF — back up originals before stripping |
Related tools
How it works · technical details
Why strip EXIF?
Marketplace listings — home address leakPhotos on eBay / Craigslist / second-hand apps embed GPS — buyers can pinpoint your home address from listing photos.
Instagram / SNS — daily routeGPS-tagged café / gym / commute photos add up to a full daily map. Instagram stories auto-share is especially risky.
Kid photosFamily-chat / blog photos of your kid expose daycare / school / home GPS. Strangers can use this for tracking.
Résumés · job appsID photos in résumé PDFs can reveal address and device model. Strip before sending.
Real estate · constructionListing photos with GPS expose the exact property location — keep private until negotiation closes.
Work documentsInternal reports / decks with GPS or photographer name pose a security risk on external distribution.
What EXIF contains
- GPS coordinates — lat / lng (DMS or decimal) + altitude
- Capture time — DateTimeOriginal (to the second)
- Make / model — Apple, Samsung, iPhone 15 Pro
- Software — camera firmware, editing app
- Settings — shutter, aperture, ISO, white balance
- Copyright / artist — if filled in
- Thumbnail — embedded smaller copy of the original
Some platforms (Instagram, Facebook) strip EXIF on upload, but Naver Blog, KakaoTalk, and email keep it. Strip before sharing where possible.
Why canvas re-encode?
- Analyze original with
piexifjs→ display what metadata was present (user awareness) createImageBitmap→ pixel data only- Draw to a new canvas via
drawImage→ metadata is discarded by definition toBlob→ fresh JPG/PNG/WebP without EXIF
Uses only standard browser APIs — no external library dependency for the stripping step itself. PNG / WebP are lossless; JPG re-encodes with a 0.85–0.98 quality slider.
Why not HEIC?
HEIC is Apple-only and not decoded directly by canvas. Convert via HEIC → JPG first, then strip EXIF on the JPG output.
Common pitfalls
- Screenshots have no GPS — app captures don't include camera GPS, so stripping is unnecessary.
- Already uploaded to SNS — re-downloaded photos from Instagram / Facebook usually already have EXIF stripped.
- Embedded thumbnails — some tools strip top-level EXIF but leave the embedded thumbnail. Canvas re-encode here drops both.
- JPG quality loss — JPG → JPG re-encoding is lossy. Use quality ≥ 0.95. PNG / WebP are lossless but bigger.
FAQ
What personal info does EXIF actually contain?
Smartphone photos typically carry (1) GPS coordinates (lat / long, often the home or office), (2) exact date & time of capture, (3) camera make / model / serial number, (4) exposure, aperture, lens, software. Many marketplace and Instagram leaks have traced sellers / users back to a home address via embedded GPS.
Are images uploaded to a server?
No. Everything happens inside your browser using the Canvas API. Neither the site operator nor any third party can see your photo or its EXIF.
How exactly does this tool strip EXIF?
It decodes the original with the Canvas API, then re-encodes only the pixels. All EXIF, GPS, ICC, XMP and other metadata is dropped by design. Safer than tools that only remove a subset of EXIF tags.
How much quality loss does re-encoding cause?
Default JPG output uses quality 0.92 — visually indistinguishable for almost all photos. PNG and WebP outputs are lossless. The slider goes from 0.85 to 0.98.
Does it support iPhone HEIC files?
Browsers cannot decode HEIC directly. Use the HEIC → JPG converter first. Note: the HEIC → JPG step also removes most metadata in practice.
Don't Instagram and Facebook strip GPS automatically?
Instagram and Facebook may hide GPS in the UI but have been observed to retain or transmit metadata internally. Marketplaces, Discord, blogs and direct file shares almost always preserve the original EXIF, so removing it before upload is the safe default.
References
Last verified: 2026-05-17 / Browser-native Canvas API + piexifjs 1.0.6 (preview only — removal is via Canvas re-encode).
- Canvas API — MDN
- EXIF specification — CIPA DC-008-2019
- EFF guide on metadata — Electronic Frontier Foundation
⚠️ Canvas re-encoding removes EXIF / GPS / ICC / XMP completely but lightly recompresses pixels (JPG only). If you need lossless EXIF removal, a piexifjs.remove() workflow is required.