Easily Delete Metadata from Image Files – 4 Flawless Ways

Metadata is hidden information on your files or images that contain important details of your data. Every image that you take from your smartphone or the photos that are saved in your computers, laptops, or mobiles contains metadata. But, what type of metadata does it contain, we have explained.

Informations Image Metadata Contain

EXIF is the most common type of metadata, automatically created using cameras and smartphones. There are other types of photo metadata that we mentioned below.

So there can be three types of metadata in one image file: EXIF which is automatically created and IPTC and XMP generated by editors and media organizations.

Why Need to Delete Metadata from Image

Most people might be thinking about what could happen if we share our image file metadata. Then, you are wrong, there are many criminals in the world who take advantage of the photos you share. Below are some of the cases where with the help of the metadata your information can be stolen or harm you.

• EXIF metadata contains GPS location, because of this everyone will know where the picture is taken and they can easily track you.
• Regularly posting your images on social media, someone will know your routine and they take advantage of this information.
• In your Image metadata, details like models of the camera, and information about the edit you made are also included. As a professional or the one sharing your work, this could expose your techniques or ways to do your job.
• Many journalists and lawyers often share sensitive photos. If they do not remove metadata from images, the possibility of leaking important evidence will become high.
• This one does not matter much but cleaning your image metadata may reduce the size of your image.

Thus, having metadata of your photo can create a lot of problems. That’s why, it is better to delete them. But, most of us don’t know where image metadata is located. Don’t worry, we provided a process that you can follow to find your metadata and remove them.

Steps to Find Metadata of your Photos

The process of finding the metadata is different in other devices. So, below we will provide you with steps for locating your image metadata in your Windows, iPhone, and Android mobiles.

• Windows OS: Right-click your files and then the Properties button. Click on the Details option.
• iPhone/iPad: In your Photos app, select an image and click on the (i) icon.
• Android Devices: Open the Gallery app and choose an image. Click on the three dots or Details button.

So these are the steps where you can find your image file data and now we remove them with the help of the solutions that we explained below.

Delete Metadata from Images on Windows OS

If you mostly work on your images in Windows OS, then this method will work. Here, you can remove EXIF metadata, so follow the steps carefully.

1. First of all, open those folders of images which you want to make private.
2. Then, choose an image file and right-click it.
3. Click on the Properties, then select the Details button.
   
4. At the bottom of the detail screen, click on Remove Properties and Personal Information.
5. Select the Create a copy with all possible properties button. Then, hit OK.
   
6. In the above step, create a copy of your image with no metadata. If you don’t want the copy just strip the metadata. Choose the Remove the following properties button.
7. Select the properties you want to delete, then press OK.

Using this method, all metadata of your image will be clear, but the creation date will remain. If you also want to delete the date, create a copy of your images and remove the properties of the copied files. After that, delete your original images.

Remove Metadata from Image on iPhone or iPad

Now, if you are using Apple smartphones, then there is no direct manual way to delete all EXIF metadata from your images. There are several tools available that you can use to clear your properties, but that can be expensive. However, you can delete location from your images, by following these steps.

1. In this, we use Apple’s Shortcut app. Open this application and click on the + icon.
2. Now we add shortcuts, add Get latest Photos or Select Photos, Remove Metadata from images, and Save to Album.
3. Once you add these shortcuts your properties will automatically be removed.

Remember this process is only to delete your location and others cannot be removed.

Clear Photos Metadata from Android Phones

Unfortunately, just like the iPhone, you cannot delete image metadata on Android phones. But you can remove the GPS location before sharing the photos.

1. Go to Google Photos and select the image.
2. Click on the three buttons.
3. Just before sharing, hit the Remove location data.
4. Now, you can send your image without location metadata.

So, here are the manual ways to delete metadata from images. The Windows OS technique will easily clear all the metadata but it will be time-consuming, as you are removing the properties of your photos one by one. And in Android and iPhone, you can only strip your location. So, there are many flaws to these methods. But, there is another solution that makes the process easier and quicker.

Steps to Delete Metadata from Image

1. Download and install the software on your Windows OS.
   
2. Click on the Open button, then select the Images button.
   
3. Now, choose the option of image file type and upload your images.
   
4. The tool displays all the images in front of you, you can preview them, by right-clicking it.
   
5. Select the Actions button and choose the Clear Metadata button.

Properly follow these steps and you can now remove all the metadata from the images very easily and securely.

Final Words

So you learned how someone can use the metadata to steal your crucial information and may harm you. Therefore, when sharing your photos, removing your metadata is an important step. For this, we provided four simple ways that help you delete metadata from images. Properly follow these methods and clear your metadata from your image files.