Remove image metadata: pick your file type, device, or tool

Posting to Instagram? Start on Remove Instagram AI Info metadata. Everything else below is for the file itself.

By file type

The container decides what is inside and what you get back.

• HEIC — Comes back as a JPEG; measured on 3, 12, and 48 MP test files.
• PNG — Text chunks, XMP, eXIf, and C2PA; the colour profile and pixel size stay.
• WebP — EXIF, XMP, and C2PA chunks; animated and transparent files stay intact.

By who you are

The same cleaner, set up for a job.

• Sellers: product images — GPS, camera serials, and AI mockup data off a 12-file listing batch.
• Photographers: Lightroom exports — Why a real photo gets an AI info label, and how to remove only the AI fields.

By device

Phone and desktop steps, and what the OS already does for you.

• iPhone — Safari steps, the Photos location switch, and rotated portrait JPEGs.
• Android — What Google Photos cannot remove, and a Chrome clean of the file itself.
• Mac and Windows — Built-in options, their limits, and a browser route tested in two engines.

By tool

If you already use a command or a generator.

• ExifTool -all= — Tested on C2PA-signed JPEG, PNG, and WebP, with the commands that keep rotation and colour.
• Bulk EXIF remover — A whole folder as one ZIP, measured on 15 mixed files.
• ExifTool alternative — When a browser report is easier than a terminal.
• ComfyUI — The prompt and workflow chunks in every PNG, and a whole output folder.
• Stable Diffusion / Automatic1111 — The parameters chunk and EXIF comments.

By what you want gone

One page per kind of data.

• AI metadata remover — C2PA, IPTC DigitalSourceType, and generator XMP.
• C2PA / Content Credentials — The signed manifest in JPEG, PNG, and WebP.
• EXIF and GPS — Location, camera, and device fields, with a measured JPEG run.
• XMP and IPTC — Creator, copyright, caption, and the AI source type.
• EXIF and AI together — One pass for both layers, with a mode for each.
• Photo delivery — GPS and credentials off a client set.
• View metadata online — A viewer for GPS, camera, XMP, IPTC, and C2PA rows. Nothing uploads.
• Check a photo first — Inspect before you strip.
• Check for C2PA — Is the manifest in this file?

By AI generator or editor

Each source writes different data.

• ChatGPT / DALL·E — C2PA on the download.
• Gemini / Imagen — C2PA on newer exports; SynthID is not metadata.
• Midjourney — IPTC and prompt on some downloads.
• Adobe Firefly — Content Credentials on exports.
• Photoshop Generative Fill — Credentials on the exported file.

By platform

What a platform label reads from the file, and what it does not.

• Instagram AI info — The Instagram owner page: clean the file before you upload.
• Facebook AI info — Feed, Pages, Groups, and Marketplace stills.
• TikTok AI label — Photo mode, carousel stills, and covers.
• Pinterest AI modified — IPTC-triggered labels and a whole board.
• LinkedIn CR icon — What the icon means and how to avoid it.

How to choose

1. If you do not know what is in the file, press Inspect only above. The list tells you whether you need the C2PA, EXIF, or generator guide.
2. If the file is a HEIC or came from an iPhone, read the HEIC and iPhone guides first: the output is a JPEG.
3. If you have many files, the guides that mention a folder end the same way: the first image is free and Pro returns one ZIP.

Questions

What metadata can be in an image?

Camera EXIF (make, model, lens, time), GPS location, XMP and IPTC fields (creator, copyright, an AI DigitalSourceType), a C2PA / Content Credentials manifest, and format-specific text such as PNG prompt or workflow chunks. The tool lists what it finds before it removes anything.

Does removing metadata change how the image looks?

For JPEG, PNG, and WebP the pixels are copied untouched; the tests on the guides compare decoded pixels and they match. A HEIC is converted to a JPEG, which is a new lossy encode. JPEG rotation is preserved.

Does it upload my image?

No. Reading, removing, and re-scanning all happen in your browser tab.

What does it not remove?

A watermark inside the pixels, such as SynthID, and a label a platform decides to show on its own. It also does not edit a post that is already live.

How much does it cost?

One image is free. A one-time Pro unlock cleans unlimited images and returns a folder as one ZIP; see the pricing page.

Related guides

• AI metadata guides by file type
• What is AI metadata in an image?
• Remove Instagram AI Info metadata
• Open the Remove AI metadata tool on the homepage if you want the general cleaner.
• Short Instagram upload workflow if you only need the four-step version.