How to Remove EXIF Data from Photos: The 2026 Guide
What EXIF reveals, which apps and platforms strip it, and how to remove it on iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, in the browser or with ExifTool.
The people who build BlankAI
In This Article
- 01What EXIF contains
- 02When EXIF leaks
- 03How to remove EXIF on each platform
- 04Keep a private original
EXIF is the metadata cameras and phones write into every photo. It was designed to help photographers, and it still does, but it also records where a photo was taken, on which device, and when. This guide covers what is in it, when it leaks, and how to remove it on each platform.
What EXIF contains
| Field | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| GPSLatitude / GPSLongitude | Coordinates to a few meters | Reveals home, work, routines |
| Make / Model / LensModel | Apple iPhone 15 Pro | Identifies your device |
| BodySerialNumber | Camera serial | Links photos to one camera |
| DateTimeOriginal | 2026:09:12 18:04:11 | Reveals when you were somewhere |
| Software | Adobe Photoshop, AI tools | Reveals your workflow |
| MakerNote | Vendor-specific data | Can hold internal identifiers |
EXIF lives in an APP1 segment in JPEG, an eXIf chunk in PNG, an EXIF chunk in WebP, and an Exif item in HEIC and AVIF files.
When EXIF leaks
Large social networks such as Instagram, Facebook and public LinkedIn posts do not show EXIF to other users, according to independent tests, although the platform still receives your original file. The leaks happen elsewhere: email attachments, cloud share links, forums, marketplace listings, and messaging apps when you send a photo as a document or file rather than as a photo.
How to remove EXIF on each platform
iPhone
In Photos, open a photo, swipe up or tap the info button, then Adjust next to the location and choose No Location. When sharing, tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn off Location. This removes location but not the rest of EXIF.
Android
Turn off location tags in your camera app's settings to stop recording them. Google Photos can remove an estimated location from a photo's details, but a full clean needs a separate tool.
Windows
Right-click the file, open Properties, then Details, and choose Remove Properties and Personal Information. You can create a cleaned copy or remove selected properties.
Mac
In Preview, open Tools, Show Inspector, then the GPS tab and choose Remove Location Info. Other EXIF fields remain.
In the browser
BlankAI removes all of EXIF, plus XMP, IPTC, C2PA and PNG text, from up to 20 files at once, without uploading them. It shows what each file contained and re-checks the output.
Command line
ExifTool is the reference tool. Running exiftool -all= on a file removes writable metadata in place and keeps a backup copy of the original. It does not re-encode the image.
Keep a private original
EXIF is useful to you: it sorts your library by date and place and records the settings you used. Clean the copies you share, not your archive.
Remove EXIF and GPS from photos in your browser. Works with iPhone HEIC files too.
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BlankAI Team
The people who build BlankAI
BlankAI builds browser-based tools for inspecting and cleaning image metadata. These guides are written by the same team, checked against vendor documentation, standards and independent tests, and updated when those change. Sources are listed at the end of each article. Corrections: [email protected].