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Remove EXIF data from your photos

Your photos contain GPS coordinates, your name, your camera model, and timestamps — all invisible, all readable by anyone you share with. Strip it all in two seconds.

Strip EXIF data now — it's free What is EXIF data?
Zero uploads No account needed 100% in your browser Open source logic

What is EXIF data — and why does it matter?

EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a standard for embedding metadata inside image files. Every modern camera and smartphone automatically writes this data into every photo you take. Most people have no idea it's there.

When you share a photo — by email, on social media, in a listing, or as an attachment — the EXIF data travels with it. Anyone who receives or downloads the image can read it with free tools in seconds.

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GPS Location

Latitude and longitude precise to within a few metres. Can reveal your home address, workplace, or where your children go to school.

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Author & Copyright

Your name, contact info, and copyright string embedded by your camera or photo editing software.

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Device Info

Camera make and model, lens details, firmware version — useful for tracking which device captured a specific image.

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Timestamps

Date and time the photo was taken, edited, and digitised. Can reveal your routine, schedule, or prove you were somewhere.

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Camera Settings

ISO, aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, white balance, and flash — the full technical record of how the shot was taken.

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AI Credentials

C2PA content credentials embedded by AI tools like DALL-E, Adobe Firefly, and Midjourney — marking the image as AI-generated.

Real-world risk: a photo posted online can expose your home address

In 2024, researchers demonstrated that a single geotagged photo shared on a public listing site was enough to identify the precise address of the photographer. The EXIF GPS tag was accurate to 4 metres. Most social media platforms strip EXIF on upload — but email, direct messages, WhatsApp, and many file-sharing services do not.

How Ghoststrip removes EXIF data

Unlike most online tools, Ghoststrip never uploads your file. Everything runs inside your browser using the same APIs that power native apps.

01 —

You choose a file

Drop a photo onto the page or tap "Choose a file." The file is read directly into browser memory — it never leaves your device, not even for a millisecond.

02 —

The EXIF parser reads every field

Ghoststrip walks the JPEG/PNG/AVIF marker structure and extracts every metadata field — EXIF IFD0, GPS IFD, SubExif, IFD1 thumbnail metadata, XMP packets, and ICC profiles. You see exactly what was found before anything is removed.

03 —

Lossless stripping for JPEG — pixel-perfect

For JPEG files, Ghoststrip uses a byte-level segment stripper rather than canvas re-encoding. APP0–APP15 and COM segments are removed while the compressed image data is preserved byte-for-byte. Zero quality loss. This is different from every other online EXIF remover.

04 —

Download your clean file

The diff view shows every field that was found and removed. Download the stripped file — same filename, no metadata. A built-in re-verify option is available if you want to confirm the output independently.

Supported image formats

Ghoststrip handles every common photo format. Documents are supported too — see the PDF metadata and Word document pages.

Images
JPEG Lossless byte-level stripping — EXIF, XMP, C2PA, GPS, all APP segments removed. Zero re-encoding, zero quality loss.
PNG Chunk-level filtering — tEXt, iTXt, zTXt, eXIf, tIME, caBP removed. Pixel data and structural chunks preserved.
AVIF Full EXIF and C2PA credentials removed via canvas re-encode.
~ WEBP Metadata removed for static files. Animated WebP not supported — re-encoding would destroy the animation.
~ HEIC GPS and device info removed. Output saved as JPEG (browser limitation — no native HEIC encoder).
~ TIFF EXIF removed via canvas re-encode. Output saved as JPEG.
~ GIF Metadata removed for static files only.

Frequently asked questions

Does removing EXIF data affect image quality?
For JPEG files, no — not at all. Ghoststrip uses a lossless byte-level approach that removes the metadata segments while leaving the compressed pixel data completely untouched. This is different from canvas-based tools that re-encode the image at 95% quality, causing a small but real quality reduction every time. For PNG, quality is also fully preserved since only metadata chunks are removed. HEIC and TIFF files are converted to JPEG during processing, which does involve re-encoding.
Does social media strip EXIF automatically?
Most major platforms do strip EXIF on upload — Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and TikTok all remove metadata server-side. However, this is not guaranteed and has been inconsistent historically. More importantly, stripping happens after upload, meaning the original file with GPS data was transmitted to the platform's servers. For email, WhatsApp, Signal (with original quality selected), Telegram, direct file sharing, property listings, freelance portfolios, and most file hosting services, EXIF data is preserved intact.
Is Ghoststrip really processing files locally?
Yes. Open your browser's DevTools, go to the Network tab, and process a file — you will see zero outbound requests during processing. The entire tool is a single HTML file that runs in your browser. There is no server, no API endpoint, no analytics, and no logging. Your file data never leaves your device.
What about C2PA and AI image credentials?
C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) credentials are metadata embedded by AI tools like DALL-E, Adobe Firefly, and Midjourney to mark images as AI-generated. Ghoststrip removes C2PA manifests from JPEG (via APP segment stripping), PNG (via caBP chunk removal), and AVIF. Note that pixel-level watermarks like Google SynthID are embedded in the image data itself, not in metadata — no tool can remove those.
Can I remove EXIF from multiple photos at once?
Ghoststrip currently processes one file at a time. Batch processing for multiple files is planned as a future feature. For now, processing is fast enough (under 2 seconds for most photos) that single-file processing is practical for most use cases.
What's the difference between EXIF, XMP, and IPTC?
EXIF is the standard for camera-generated technical metadata (GPS, settings, timestamps). XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) is an Adobe standard used for editing history, copyright, and workflow data. IPTC is a standard used by journalists and agencies for caption, keyword, and credit information. Ghoststrip removes all three formats across all supported file types.

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No account. No upload. No trace. Your photos stay on your device throughout. Works on desktop and mobile.

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