Best free metadata removers in 2026: which one fits your files
Short answer: the best free metadata remover depends on your files. For many files, RAW or PDF, use ExifTool (command line) or ExifCleaner (desktop app). For a few JPEG, PNG or WebP photos with no install, use a browser tool that doesn't upload: IPVoid keeps the pixels untouched, and AI Info Remover re-encodes from pixels and also handles video. Metadata2Go covers the most formats but uploads your file.
Every fact about these tools below was taken from each tool's own website on 6 November 2026. We wrote this page, and one of the five tools is ours, so the table says where each of the others is the better choice.
The five tools at a glance
| Tool | Runs where | Free formats | Upload? | Better at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExifTool | Command line (Windows, macOS, Unix/Linux with Perl) | Many, incl. JPEG, PNG, HEIC, RAW, MP4/MOV, PDF | No | Everything: precision, batches, RAW, PDF, scripts |
| ExifCleaner | Desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux) | JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, GIF, MP4, MOV, PDF and more | No | Drag-and-drop batches of thousands of files |
| Metadata2Go | Website, files processed on its servers | Almost any file, incl. Office docs and PDF | Yes | Odd formats, viewing and editing in one place |
| IPVoid Image EXIF Remover | In your browser | JPEG, PNG, WebP | No | Up to 25 images with ZIP download, no re-encoding |
| AI Info Remover (viewer, video cleaner) | In your browser | JPEG, PNG, WebP; MP4, MOV, WebM up to 500 MB | No | C2PA and AI tags, plus video, without installing anything |
ExifTool: the most complete, if you're fine with a terminal
ExifTool is a free Perl library and command-line program, licensed "under the same terms as Perl itself". The version on its site on 6 November 2026 was 13.61. It runs on Windows (as an executable that includes Perl), macOS and any system with Perl.
It reads and writes EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP and maker notes across a long list of image, video, audio and document formats, including HEIC, RAW files like CR2, NEF, ARW and DNG, and PDF. One command removes everything it can write:
exiftool -all= photo.jpg
Its own documentation warns that removal isn't guaranteed to be complete for every format. Still, no other free tool gives you this much control: you can keep the color profile and drop only GPS, or clean a whole folder recursively.
Pick it if you have many files, RAW or PDF files, or you want to remove some fields and keep others. Skip it if a terminal is a dealbreaker.
ExifCleaner: ExifTool-style power with a window
ExifCleaner is a free, open-source desktop app (MIT license) for Windows, macOS and Linux. Its site lists images (JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, GIF), video (MP4, MOV) and PDF, says it handles batches "from tens to thousands" of files dropped as files or folders, and says it makes no network requests and has no telemetry.
Pick it if you regularly clean whole folders and want drag-and-drop. Skip it if you can't install software on the computer you're using, or you're on a phone.
Metadata2Go: widest format list, but your file leaves your device
Metadata2Go views, removes and edits metadata on its website. Its homepage says files are "processed on servers located in Europe", that free use goes up to 75 MB per file, and that paid plans raise the limit. It accepts nearly any file type, including photos, PDFs, Word and Excel files, MP4 and MP3. The homepage describes encryption but doesn't give a retention period.
Pick it if you need a format the others don't handle, like an Office document, and the file isn't sensitive. Skip it if the reason you're removing metadata is privacy: uploading the file to remove its location sends the location to a server first.
IPVoid Image EXIF Remover: browser-based, no re-encode
IPVoid's remover runs in your browser and says the file is "never uploaded". It accepts JPEG, PNG and WebP, up to 25 images at once and 50 MB each, with single downloads or a ZIP. Instead of re-encoding, it cuts metadata segments out of the file: EXIF, XMP, IPTC, other APPn segments and comments from JPEG (the ICC color profile is kept), text, time and eXIf chunks from PNG, and EXIF and XMP from WebP. It doesn't fix orientation, so a photo that relied on the EXIF rotation tag may come out sideways. IPVoid has a separate tool for PDF metadata.
Pick it if you want exact pixels back and a batch of photos zipped. Skip it if you need video, or you want the guarantee that comes from rebuilding the file from pixels (below).
AI Info Remover: rebuilds the file from pixels
This site's image cleaner draws your image onto a browser <canvas> and saves a new file from it. A canvas holds only pixels, so every metadata segment is gone in the output: EXIF, XMP, IPTC and C2PA alike, including blocks that a segment-by-segment remover might not know about. Nothing is uploaded.
The trade-off is honest: re-encoding is lossy for JPEG (we save at quality 0.95), so the pixels aren't bit-identical to the original. If that matters, IPVoid or ExifTool keep them exact.
Images must be JPEG, PNG or WebP; HEIC isn't accepted, so iPhone photos need converting first. Videos (MP4, MOV, WebM, up to 500 MB) are remuxed with ffmpeg in your browser: same video and audio streams, metadata dropped. You can check a file before and after with the image metadata viewer, which flags GPS, C2PA, AI tool tags and embedded thumbnails.
Pick it if your concern is AI provenance data (C2PA, AI prompt chunks) or a phone video, and you don't want to install anything. Skip it if you need HEIC, RAW, PDF or bit-exact pixels.
Built-in options you already have
You may not need a separate tool at all for a single photo:
- iPhone and Android can drop location when sharing. See removing metadata on iPhone and removing location on Android.
- Windows has "Remove Properties and Personal Information" in a file's Properties, and macOS Preview can remove location. Steps are in remove GPS from a photo.
These usually target location and a few personal fields, not everything. Check the result in a viewer.
How to choose in ten seconds
- Is the file sensitive? Then rule out anything that uploads.
- How many files? Dozens or more: ExifTool, ExifCleaner or IPVoid.
- What format? RAW, HEIC or PDF: ExifTool or ExifCleaner. Video: ExifTool, ExifCleaner or our video cleaner.
- Do you need bit-exact pixels? Use a segment remover (ExifTool, IPVoid), not a re-encoder.
- No install allowed? A browser tool that processes locally.
What no metadata remover can do
- It can't change what the image shows. A street sign, a face or a window view gives away a location with no GPS at all.
- It doesn't remove invisible watermarks. Marks like Google's SynthID live in the pixels, not in metadata, and survive every tool above.
- It doesn't reach copies already posted. Cleaning your file now doesn't change what someone already downloaded.
- It isn't anonymity. The account that posts the file and the platform's own upload logs still identify you.
Common questions
Is ExifTool safe to use? It's free software distributed from exiftool.org, and it runs on your own computer, so your files aren't sent anywhere. Download it from that site rather than a mirror.
Do online metadata removers keep my files? It depends on the service. Browser-based ones process the file on your device: IPVoid says files are never uploaded, and AI Info Remover makes no network request carrying your file. Server-based ones receive it, so read their retention policy before uploading anything sensitive.
Does removing metadata reduce quality? Only if the tool re-encodes. Segment removers (ExifTool, IPVoid) keep the pixels exact; a canvas re-encode like ours saves new JPEG pixels at quality 0.95.
Which one removes C2PA content credentials? A re-encode drops them by design. See why a canvas strips C2PA and the C2PA remover.