EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a standard for embedding metadata inside image files, primarily JPEG and TIFF. It stores information the camera records at the moment of capture: date and time, camera make and model, lens focal length, aperture (f/number), shutter speed (exposure time), ISO sensitivity, white balance, and GPS coordinates if location services were enabled. Many cameras and smartphones embed this data automatically.

Does the metadata viewer expose my location from photo GPS data?

If GPS coordinates were embedded in a photo when it was taken, the viewer will display them. This is important to know before sharing photos publicly — the EXIF GPS data reveals where a photo was taken. This tool displays it locally so you can check. If you need to remove GPS data before sharing, use an EXIF editing tool to strip location data from the file.

Why do some images have no EXIF data?

EXIF data may be absent if: (1) the image is a PNG or WebP — these formats typically do not carry EXIF; (2) the image was edited or saved by software that stripped metadata (many social networks remove EXIF when photos are uploaded); (3) the camera or device had metadata embedding disabled. Screenshots also have no EXIF data as they are captured programmatically, not by a physical camera sensor.

Image Metadata Viewer — EXIF, IPTC & XMP

Read the metadata embedded in an image: camera, lens, exposure, timestamp and any GPS coordinates. The file is read locally and never uploaded.

Drop an image here

or click to browse · PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, AVIF…

EXIF data available for JPEG files

Photos carry more than you think

A photograph from a phone routinely embeds the exact GPS coordinates where it was taken, to within a few metres, along with the precise timestamp, the device model and often a device-specific serial number.

That travels with the file. Sending a photo of something at home tells the recipient where you live. A series of photos reconstructs a movement history.

Most large social platforms strip EXIF on upload — but not all of them, not on every upload path, and notably not when a file is sent as a document or attachment rather than as an image. Cloud storage links, email attachments and direct file transfers typically preserve everything.

Check before sharing anything sensitive. On iOS, the share sheet has a Location toggle under Options; on Android, most gallery apps can remove location on share. Re-encoding through the image converter also strips metadata as a side effect.

The three metadata standards

Standard	Carries	Written by
EXIF	Camera, lens, exposure, ISO, focal length, timestamp, GPS, orientation	The camera, automatically
IPTC	Caption, credit, copyright, keywords, contact details	Photographers and picture desks — the press standard
XMP	An extensible XML container; often duplicates EXIF and IPTC plus editing history	Adobe software and most modern editors

The three overlap and can disagree — a caption edited in one may not update the others. When they conflict, XMP is generally treated as authoritative by editing software.

What the fields are good for

Learning from exposures —Aperture, shutter speed and ISO on a shot that worked is the fastest way to understand why it worked.
Verifying provenance —Missing EXIF on a supposedly original photo suggests it has been re-encoded, screenshotted or downloaded from a platform that strips it. Present EXIF is not proof of authenticity — it is trivially editable — but its absence is informative.
Diagnosing rotation problems —The orientation flag tells the viewer to rotate. Software that ignores it displays the image sideways, which is why a photo can look correct in one app and rotated in another.
Copyright and licensing —IPTC fields are where credit and licence terms belong, and are what image-management systems read.
Confirming a strip worked —After removing metadata, check the file here to verify nothing survived — particularly GPS, which some tools miss inside XMP.

About

The Image Metadata Viewer reads and displays technical information from image files: dimensions (width × height), file size, MIME type, last modified date, megapixel count, and aspect ratio. For JPEG photos it also extracts EXIF metadata including camera make and model, date and time taken, focal length, shutter speed, aperture, and GPS coordinates when present.

How to use

1 Drag and drop an image file onto the upload area, or click to browse.
2 All metadata is read locally in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
3 Basic info (dimensions, size, type) appears for all image formats.
4 EXIF data (camera, date, focal length, etc.) appears for JPEG photos.

What is EXIF data?: EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a standard for embedding metadata inside image files, primarily JPEG and TIFF. It stores information the camera records at the moment of capture: date and time, camera make and model, lens focal length, aperture (f/number), shutter speed (exposure time), ISO sensitivity, white balance, and GPS coordinates if location services were enabled. Many cameras and smartphones embed this data automatically.
Does the metadata viewer expose my location from photo GPS data?: If GPS coordinates were embedded in a photo when it was taken, the viewer will display them. This is important to know before sharing photos publicly — the EXIF GPS data reveals where a photo was taken. This tool displays it locally so you can check. If you need to remove GPS data before sharing, use an EXIF editing tool to strip location data from the file.
Why do some images have no EXIF data?: EXIF data may be absent if: (1) the image is a PNG or WebP — these formats typically do not carry EXIF; (2) the image was edited or saved by software that stripped metadata (many social networks remove EXIF when photos are uploaded); (3) the camera or device had metadata embedding disabled. Screenshots also have no EXIF data as they are captured programmatically, not by a physical camera sensor.

More in Media & Audio

Instrument Tuner Chromatic tuner with cent-accurate deviation, presets for guitar, bass, ukulele and violin, and adjustable A4 reference.Metronome Sample-accurate metronome scheduled on the audio clock, with time signatures, accented downbeats and subdivisions.Tap Tempo Tap along to find a track’s BPM, averaged over a rolling window so a single mistimed tap does not skew the reading.Pitch Detector Real-time fundamental frequency detection from the microphone, showing the nearest note and cent offset.Tone Generator Sine, square, triangle and sawtooth at any frequency — for testing speakers, headphones and room response.Noise Generator White, pink and brown noise with a proper spectral shape, for masking, testing or concentration.

See all media & audio.