Photo metadata guides

Metadata is data about data. The three classic types, then a real JPEG read with ExifTool: camera, exposure, date taken, GPS and copyright tags.

EXIF is the metadata cameras and phones write into each photo. Its history and versions, its TIFF-based layout, a real dump, and how to view or remove it.

EXIF records how a photo was taken, IPTC what it shows and who owns it, XMP holds both in XML. Field mapping table, conflict rules and what to write.

C2PA attaches a signed provenance record to an image. What a manifest holds, where JPEG, PNG and WebP store it, how to inspect it, and what removing it does.

How to remove AI Info and Made with AI triggers from JPG and PNG: inspect C2PA and IPTC with ExifTool, strip markers with a free online remover, and know what metadata cannot fix.

Why Instagram shows an AI info label on some photos, what Meta reads from C2PA and IPTC metadata at upload, how to check your file, and how to strip those markers before posting.

Why TikTok shows contains AI-generated media on uploads, which image metadata triggers it, and how to strip C2PA and XMP from cover images and carousel photos before posting.

What Facebook, Instagram, X, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Discord, iMessage, email and cloud storage do to EXIF and GPS, and how to test any platform yourself.

Swipe up on a photo in the iPhone Photos app to see camera, lens, exposure and map. What that panel leaves out, and how Shortcuts and Files show the rest.

Swipe up in Google Photos or open Details in Samsung Gallery to see camera, exposure and location data. Why some apps show no GPS, and what sharing removes.

File Explorer, Preview, Photos, mdls, sips and ExifTool compared: which shows GPS, lens, IPTC and XMP, and what Windows writes when you edit a field.

Read a photo's GPS tags, convert degrees, minutes and seconds to decimal, and open it on a map. Plus camera direction, accuracy and why GPS goes missing.

Strip EXIF, GPS, IPTC and XMP from photos online, on Windows, Mac, iPhone or Android, or with ExifTool, and learn what each method leaves behind.

Turn off geotagging on iPhone and Android, remove GPS from existing photos on phone, Windows or Mac, and clear XMP GPS and IPTC city fields with ExifTool.

Edit photo metadata online, in Windows, Lightroom, Bridge or digiKam, or with tested ExifTool commands, and avoid the IPTC length and encoding traps.

Add copyright, creator, credit and license URLs to photo metadata, see how IPTC, EXIF and XMP map, and which fields Google Images reads for Licensable.

Fix the date taken on iPhone, Google Photos, Windows and macOS, or rewrite DateTimeOriginal with ExifTool: exact dates, time zone shifts and whole folders.