Privacy tool — 100% local processing
Erase hidden metadata from any file
Your photos contain GPS coordinates. Your PDFs reveal the author. Your Word docs store edit history. Strip it all — instantly, locally, privately.
How it works
Drop your files
Drag and drop up to 5 files. They stay in browser memory — nothing is uploaded.
Metadata is stripped
A Web Worker processes files in a background thread. GPS, author, timestamps — all removed.
Download clean files
Get cleaned files with a verification report confirming all metadata was removed.
What is file metadata?
Metadata is invisible information embedded inside digital files. It is not part of the visible content — you won't see it when you open a photo, read a PDF, or edit a Word document. But it's there, and anyone who has the file can read it.
Photos store EXIF metadata: GPS coordinates pinpointing where the image was taken, the camera or smartphone model used, exact timestamps, lens information, and even a thumbnail of the original uncropped image. A single photo shared from your home can reveal your street address.
PDFs contain a Document Info Dictionary with the author's name, the software used to create the document (e.g., "Microsoft Word," "Adobe Acrobat"), creation and modification dates, and often an XMP metadata stream with even more detailed information.
Word documents (.docx files) are ZIP archives containing XML files that store the author's full name, company, manager, total editing time in minutes, revision count, template name, and custom properties from plugins or document management systems.
Why you should remove metadata before sharing files
Protect your location privacy
Every photo taken with a smartphone records your GPS location by default. When you share that image — on social media, marketplace listings, email attachments, or cloud storage — the coordinates travel with it. Anyone can extract them and find your exact location on a map.
Hide your identity in documents
PDFs and Word files automatically embed your name, username, or account info as the author. If you're sharing a document anonymously, as a whistleblower, or simply under a brand name different from your personal identity, this metadata can expose you.
Prevent competitive intelligence
Document metadata reveals which software you use, how long you spent working on a file, how many revisions you made, and your organization's name. Competitors, clients, or opposing counsel can use this to gain strategic insight.
Comply with GDPR & CCPA
Author names, usernames, and location data embedded in files qualify as personally identifiable information under GDPR, CCPA, and similar data protection regulations. Stripping metadata before sharing helps minimize personal data exposure.
How MetadataEraser works
MetadataEraser is a static web application — there is no backend server. When you drop a file into one of our tools, the browser reads the file into memory using the FileReader API. A dedicated Web Worker then processes the binary data in a background thread, keeping the page responsive while it works.
For JPEG images, the worker uses piexifjs to parse and strip all EXIF IFD blocks without re-encoding the image, preserving original quality. For PNG, WEBP, and TIFF, it re-encodes the image through an OffscreenCanvas, which produces a clean output with zero metadata by specification.
For PDFs, the worker uses pdf-lib to clear the Document Info Dictionary and remove the XMP Metadata Stream from the document catalog. All pages, text, images, and formatting remain untouched.
For Word documents, the worker uses JSZip to unpack the .docx archive, sanitize the XML property files (core.xml, app.xml), remove custom.xml and comments, then re-zip the document. Content and formatting are preserved.
After processing, each file is re-scanned to verify that all metadata has been removed. You see a real-time log of every action taken and a final verification report before downloading.
Which platforms strip metadata automatically?
Not all platforms handle metadata the same way. Understanding which services strip EXIF data and which don't is critical for protecting your privacy.
The safest approach is to always strip metadata before sharing, regardless of the platform. MetadataEraser makes this instant and free.
Frequently asked questions
Is MetadataEraser really free?
Yes. The tool is completely free with no accounts, no limits, and no watermarks. We may show affiliate links to related privacy products, but the tool itself has no cost or restrictions.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. All processing happens locally in your browser using JavaScript Web Workers. Your files never leave your device. You can verify this by checking the Network tab in your browser's Developer Tools — zero file data is transmitted.
Does removing metadata reduce file quality?
For JPEGs, metadata is removed without re-encoding, so quality is identical to the original. For PNG and WEBP, canvas re-encoding uses a high quality setting (95%) that is visually lossless. PDF and Word document content is never modified.
Can I use this tool offline?
Yes. MetadataEraser is a Progressive Web App (PWA). Visit the site once, and it caches everything needed to work offline. On Chrome or Edge, click the install icon in the address bar to add it as a standalone app.
What file formats are supported?
Images: JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg), PNG, WEBP, and TIFF (.tiff, .tif). Documents: PDF and Microsoft Word (.docx). The older .doc format is not supported — save as .docx first.
How do I check what metadata my file contains?
For photos, right-click the file and check Properties > Details (Windows) or Get Info (Mac). For PDFs, open in any reader and check File > Properties. For Word files, go to File > Info > Properties. Or simply drop the file into MetadataEraser — our privacy log shows everything found before removal.