What you will see
The tool reads the file bytes on your device and lists every metadata field its reader understands, each with its value, a risk label and a short explanation. High risk items come first.
- EXIF: camera and phone model, lens, serial numbers, date and time, orientation, software, free-text comments, and GPS location, altitude and direction when present.
- XMP and IPTC: records added by editing and press software, such as creator names, captions, city, country and edit history.
- PNG text chunks: key and value text stored by apps, which can include authors or comments.
- Colour profile and comments: technical or free-text blocks embedded in the file.
Supported formats are JPEG, PNG and WebP. Other formats are reported as unrecognised rather than guessed at.
Worked example
For a test JPEG built for this site (illustrative, not a real person's photo) the result looks like this:
High GPS latitude 40.446111 High GPS longitude -79.982222 High Artist / author Jane Doe Medium Date taken 2026-11-08 14:30:05 Medium Camera serial SN-12345 Medium Embedded thumbnail Present Low Camera / device Acme Phone 9
The headline above the table then says anyone with the file can see where and when it was taken and on which device. This site's automated checks parse a file like this one and confirm the coordinates, including the sign for west and south.
How the risk labels work
The labels are a simple guide, not a legal or security rating.
- High: items that can point to a specific place or person, such as GPS latitude and longitude or an author or owner name.
- Medium: context such as the exact time a photo was taken, a camera serial number that links photos to one device, free-text comments, an embedded thumbnail or edit history.
- Low: technical details such as camera model, lens, software, orientation and colour profile. Rarely sensitive alone.
Whether something matters depends on who will see the file. A timestamp may not matter on an anonymous landscape, but coordinates on a photo of your home usually do.
What this viewer cannot tell you
No metadata reader finds everything. This one decodes common fields and ignores the rest. Maker-specific notes, uncommon tags, data appended after the image, and formats such as HEIC, TIFF, GIF and RAW are not decoded. A result of no fields means no fields this tool recognises, not that the file is clean. The picture itself can also show faces, number plates and street names, and the file name can contain a name or date. To share a copy without the metadata found here, use the EXIF remover, which re-encodes the image and checks the result.
Common ways photos leak information
Location is the most common. Phones add coordinates to photos when the camera app has location access, and they can be precise enough to identify a building. Timestamps come next, since they can reveal habits such as when you are away. Serial numbers and owner names are rarer but can link anonymous images to the same device or person.
Frequently asked questions
Is my image uploaded to check it?
No. The file is read with browser APIs and parsed by JavaScript on this page. No file content is sent to a server.
Why does it say no metadata when I expect some?
Many apps and sites remove metadata when you save or upload an image. This viewer also understands only certain fields in JPEG, PNG and WebP files, so other formats and unusual fields will not appear.
Does it show the location on a map?
No, only the latitude and longitude numbers. It loads no map, since that would tell a third party the coordinates.
What is the difference between EXIF, XMP and IPTC?
They are different metadata containers. EXIF is written by cameras and phones, XMP is an XML format used by editing software, and IPTC is a press-oriented set of fields such as captions, credits and keywords.
Can I trust the risk label?
It is a general guide based on what that kind of field can reveal. Judge it against who will see the file.
Can I remove the metadata here?
This page only shows it. The EXIF remover on this site gives you a clean copy.