How to use it
- Drop a photo. Use the original file: images downloaded from WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram or X have already been stripped.
- Read the highlighted sections (Camera, Exposure, Date, Image, Location).
- Scroll the full table for everything else, or copy/download the JSON for a report.
Example
A JPEG from an iPhone 15 Pro typically shows: Camera “Apple iPhone 15 Pro”, Lens “iPhone 15 Pro back triple camera 6.765mm f/1.78”, Aperture f/1.8, Shutter 1/120 s, ISO 80, Focal length 6.8 mm (24 mm equivalent), Taken 2025-07-14 18:42:10, Software 18.5, Orientation “Rotate 90 CW”, 4,032 × 3,024 px and, if Location Services were on for the Camera app, latitude/longitude to about 6 decimal places (roughly 10 cm).
How the metadata is read
The file is parsed in the browser with the exifrlibrary (TIFF/EXIF IFDs, the GPS IFD, XMP packets and IPTC records enabled; ICC profiles, JFIF, maker notes and thumbnails skipped). Values are translated to names (“Rotate 90 CW” instead of 6) and rationals such as 28/10 become 2.8. WebP is a special case: exifr does not read the RIFF container, so the EXIF chunk is located by hand and its TIFF payload handed to the parser. GPS is converted from degrees/minutes/seconds with the N/S/E/W reference to signed decimal degrees:
decimal = (deg + min/60 + sec/3600) × (S or W ? −1 : 1)
Dates in EXIF carry no time zone unless OffsetTimeOriginal is present; they are shown as written by the camera. Limits: files over 200 MB are not read; RAW formats other than DNG/TIFF-based ones are not supported; a preview is shown only for formats the browser can display (so not for HEIC outside Safari).
Sources: CIPA DC-008 – Exif 2.32 specification, exifr on GitHub, Adobe – XMP specification part 1, Google WebP container specification (EXIF/XMP chunks).
Which apps keep or strip EXIF?
Email attachments, AirDrop, cloud drives and most “send original” options keep everything, including GPS. WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Facebook, X and Telegram (compressed mode) re-encode photos and drop EXIF; Telegram “send as file” and Signal (originals) keep it. Screenshots and canvas-edited images never have camera data.
Questions
- Why does the photo show no GPS data although Location was on?
- Either the app that saved or shared the file stripped it, or the camera app had no fix when the shutter fired. Check the original in the Photos app; if it shows a map there, the copy you loaded here has been stripped.
- Is the photo uploaded to read the metadata?
- No. The bytes are parsed by JavaScript in your browser. The only outbound link is the OpenStreetMap button, and that opens only when you click it.
- Can I edit or remove the data here?
- This tool only reads. The EXIF Remover produces a copy without metadata; editing individual tags needs a desktop tool such as ExifTool.