Metadata Viewer

Metadata viewer tool

This metadata viewer reads a still image in the browser and lists what it finds. Press Inspect only first. The picture is not changed, and nothing is uploaded. Use Clean this file only after the list shows a row you do not want to share.

1. Drop the still image. JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, AVIF, GIF, TIFF, and BMP are read in the browser. The file is not uploaded.
2. Press Inspect only. Inspect lists every key this reader parsed. It does not change the file and it does not use the free clean.
3. Read the groups. Rows are grouped into GPS, camera and EXIF, XMP, IPTC, C2PA, and AI markers. A GPS coordinate can open a map. The photo is not sent.
4. Clean this file if you want those fields gone. Clean this file uses the same cleaner as the rest of the site. One image is free. The After list is a new scan of the cleaned bytes.

What a metadata viewer shows

The report is a field table, not a guess about the picture. Each row is a key this reader parsed, with the value it could decode. GPS holds coordinates, and altitude, direction, and an accuracy radius when the camera stored them. Camera and EXIF hold make, model, software, lens, the capture date, time zone, aperture, shutter, ISO, and focal length when those tags exist. XMP and IPTC show that a block is present and how large it is, plus an AI hint when the text matches a known source type or generator name. C2PA shows a Content Credentials manifest and its size. AI rows call out DigitalSourceType, trained-algorithmic flags, and PNG keys such as parameters, prompt, and sd-metadata.

Empty is a result. A screenshot, a save from a social app, or a file that was already cleaned often has no rows. That does not prove the pixels are a camera original. It means this reader found none of those keys.

The table is not an ExifTool -a dump. MakerNotes stay in ExifTool. Use that command when you need every tag:

exiftool -a -G1 -s photo.jpg

Formats we can read

JPEG, PNG, and WebP are read and can be cleaned in place. The image data is not recompressed, and the dimensions stay the same. A JPEG keeps the Orientation value so a portrait stays upright.

HEIC and AVIF are read here, including the GPS and camera fields the location reader can decode. Cleaning either one returns a JPEG or, when the picture needs it, a PNG. That is a re-encode, not a lossless HEIC. If you need the export explained first, use remove metadata from HEIC.

GIF, TIFF, and BMP are read. GIF can carry comments and XMP. TIFF can carry the same EXIF block as a camera file. BMP rarely has EXIF. A PDF is not opened on this page. Use remove metadata from PDF. A Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file uses remove metadata from a Word document. Video is not supported.

Example report

The rows below are from six synthetic files built for these pages. No real person or place is in them. The cells are the category rows the tool listed on that run. The live card on this page also adds make, model, lens, date, aperture, shutter, ISO, and focal length when the file actually contains those tags.

Each inspection in that run took 135 to 212 ms in headless Chrome on a server CPU. The page made no request that carried the file.

EXIF, IPTC, XMP, C2PA — what each means

EXIF is the camera block. It is where make, model, lens, exposure, ISO, and the capture clock usually live, and where GPS is nested when the camera recorded a fix. IPTC is the caption block: creator, headline, keywords, and sometimes an AI source type. On JPEG it often sits in the Photoshop IRB (APP13). XMP is a text packet, usually RDF, that can repeat the caption and can also point at a C2PA manifest or store a generator name.

C2PA is a signed Content Credentials manifest. On JPEG it is a JUMBF box in APP11. On PNG it is a caBX chunk. On WebP it is a C2PA or caBX chunk. The signature says who assembled that manifest. Stripping the manifest from the file does not delete a copy a cloud service may still hold, and it does not stop a platform from labelling the upload later.

AI markers are the rows that name a generator or a source type: DigitalSourceType, trainedAlgorithmicMedia, a prompt, or a workflow chunk. They are metadata. SynthID and TrustMark are not. Those sit in the pixels, and this metadata viewer cannot show them or remove them. A missing AI row is not a verdict that a person took the picture.

The same split is written up on what AI metadata is and on Content Credentials. The check that only looks for a manifest is check for C2PA.

GPS and privacy risk

A phone with location on usually writes GPS into the original file. Outdoors that fix is often tight enough to show a building. Altitude and the direction the camera faced make it more specific. Sharing that file, rather than a copy a social app already re-saved, can show where you were.

When the coordinates parse, this metadata viewer shows them and waits. Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, and Show map run only after you click, and they receive the numbers, not the photo. The photo location finder is the longer GPS page: decimal and degrees-minutes-seconds, altitude, direction, and capture time. If the file has no latitude and longitude, the card says so. It does not guess a place from the scenery.

Why nothing is uploaded

The inspect code runs in the page. The bytes stay on the device. That is why a large library for HEIC or TIFF loads only after you pick a file, and why the map iframe is not created until you ask. Analytics, if the browser loads it, is not given the file name or the pixels.

A file this reader cannot open shows an error and is left alone. It is not reported as a clean photo.

After you view: clean in one click

Clean this file stays on the same card. All metadata clears the categories the report lists. AI only clears C2PA and known AI records on JPEG, PNG, and WebP, and leaves camera EXIF and GPS. EXIF / GPS clears camera fields, location, IPTC, and XMP, and also drops C2PA. The After column is a second scan of the new bytes. Download after that list matches what you meant to remove.

Inspect does not use the free clean. Cleaning one image does, shared with the other tools on this site. A folder is Pro and comes back as one ZIP. The paywall is the same one the homepage uses. This page does not add a second quota.

Related tools: view image metadata online, photo location finder, the AI metadata remover, remove EXIF, and EXIF data.

FAQ

What is a metadata viewer?

A metadata viewer reads the records stored beside the pixels and lists them. This one groups GPS, camera and EXIF, XMP, IPTC, C2PA, and AI markers. It does not rewrite the file until you press Clean this file.

Does this metadata viewer upload my photo?

No. The file is read in your browser. A map loads only if you press Show map, and then only the coordinates go to OpenStreetMap, not the photo.

Does the metadata viewer list every EXIF tag?

No. It lists every key this reader parsed: the summary rows, plus make, model, lens, date, aperture, shutter, ISO, and focal length when those tags are present. MakerNotes and the long ExifTool -a dump are not printed. The report says so.

Does viewing use the free clean?

No. Inspect only does not create a download and does not use the one free clean. Cleaning one image does. A folder is Pro.

Can the metadata viewer show GPS on a map?

Yes, when the file has latitude and longitude. The card shows the coordinates and links to Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, and the photo location finder. If those tags are missing, the card says there are no GPS coordinates.

Which formats can the metadata viewer read?

JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, AVIF, GIF, TIFF, and BMP. PDF uses the PDF page. Word uses the Word page. Video is not supported.

Can it tell me if an image is AI generated?

It can show a C2PA manifest, an IPTC AI source type, or generator text such as a prompt. A file with none of those may still be AI generated. Metadata can be missing. This is not a pixel-watermark detector.

What should I do after the metadata viewer report?

If the rows are fine to share, send the original. If GPS, camera, or a C2PA manifest should go, press Clean this file and read the After list before you download.

Does cleaning a HEIC stay a HEIC?

No. HEIC is read here. A clean copy comes back as a JPEG, which is a re-encode, not a lossless HEIC. The HEIC page explains that export.

Is the list the same read the cleaner uses?

The category rows are the same inspect the cleaner uses. This page also prints camera and GPS fields that reader already decodes, such as lens and date, when the file has them.

Last updated 2026-10-22.