Short on time? Here’s how to remove metadata from photos in 2024:
1. Take a screenshot of your photo. No matter what device you’re using, taking a screenshot of the photo is the simplest way to remove metadata — but it does reduce the image quality. If you’re up for a very small challenge, there are better ways to preserve the original image quality (see the following 2 steps).
2. Use Windows’s built-in metadata removal function. For those who want to preserve the original image quality on Windows, right-click the image file, go to Properties → Details, select Remove Properties and Personal Information, choose Create a copy with all possible properties removed, and click OK.
3. Use a third-party app on macOS, Android, or iOS. Since macOS, Android, and iOS can’t remove metadata natively, you’ll need to use a third-party app. This will help you remove any metadata while preserving the original image quality.
Removing metadata from your photos can be tricky. While the most reliable method is to prevent metadata from being embedded in the first place, this isn’t always easy. A simple workaround is to take a screenshot of your photo, which effectively removes the metadata but typically results in reduced image quality.
Fortunately, there are better ways to remove metadata without sacrificing quality. Windows users can use the built-in metadata removal tool, avoiding the need for third-party apps — but this is only really useful for a handful of photos. On the other hand, macOS, Android, and iOS don’t offer native tools for this purpose, but several third-party apps, like ExifCleaner for macOS and ExifMetadata for iOS, make it simple to strip metadata. Android users might find Photo Metadata Remover particularly useful.
And as you protect your photos from unwanted data exposure, it’s just as crucial to secure your entire online presence. Using a reliable VPN can safeguard your data and keep your online activities private, while a good antivirus protects your devices from threats. Norton’s antivirus offers excellent malware protection and a bundled VPN to keep you safe online.
How to Remove Metadata From Photos: Full Guide
You can easily remove image metadata by taking a screenshot of the image, but this will lower the image resolution. If you don’t mind the quality loss, here’s how to take a screenshot on Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS.
How to Take a Screenshot of a Photo on Windows
- Start by opening your picture in your app of choice. In my example, I’m opening the photo using the Photos app, downloaded from the Microsoft app store.
- Next, open the Windows Snipping Tool (click the Windows Start button and enter “snipping tool” to find it). Choose the form of your snip under Mode (you’ll most likely need a rectangular snip) and drag the selection around your image.
- Next, when the image appears in the Snipping Tool window, click the little “save” icon in the top right, as shown below.
- Now, choose a save location, rename your image if desired, and select the file type. Once you’ve made your selections, click Save. And that’s it! When you open your newly saved image, you’ll see that all the metadata has been stripped.
How to Take a Screenshot of a Photo on macOS
macOS makes it really simple to take screenshots:
- First, double-click to open your image. Then, press Command + Shift + 5. (Alternatively, you can use Command + Shift + 4 to drag around your photo, but Command + Shift + 5 offers more precision.)
- Next, click the little dotted line box if it’s not already selected. Position the box around your image by clicking and dragging the edges/corners, then click Capture. The default save location will be your desktop, but you may choose any location by clicking Options → Other Location. And you’re done!
How to Take a Screenshot of a Photo on Android
Taking a screenshot of a photo on Android is really simple. Here’s how to do it.
- Open up your image in Gallery.
- Next, click the power and volume-down buttons at the exact same moment to screenshot your image. (You may also be able to take a screenshot by swiping down the screen with three fingers, if that’s more convenient for you.) Then, immediately tap on the thumbnail preview that appears in the bottom-left corner of your screen.
- Tap the pencil icon to open the image editor.
- Tap the crop tool, then crop your image to the edges by holding and dragging the top and bottom. Then, tap Save in the top-right corner, and you’re done! The newly saved image should now appear in your phone’s image gallery without any metadata.
How to Take a Screenshot of a Photo on iOS (iPhones and iPads)
Taking a screenshot on an iPhone is simple, but the method varies depending on your device. There are 3 main types of iPhone:
- iPhones with Face ID: These devices have no physical Home button on the front.
- iPhones with Touch ID and a side button: These have a Home button on the front and a button on the side.
- iPhones with Touch ID and a top button: These have a Home button on the front and a button on the top.
If your iPhone doesn’t have a Home button, it uses Face ID. Skip to the directions for iPhones with a Home button instead if yours doesn’t have Face ID. Alternatively, you can also skip to the steps for iPad if you’re using one of those.
How to Take a Screenshot on iPhones With Face ID
- Open your photo in the gallery. Tap anywhere on the photo to get rid of the menus and surrounding text.
- Then, simply crop the selection to the size of your photo and press Done. The new image will be saved to your gallery — and you’re all set!
How to Take a Screenshot on iPhones With Touch ID and a Home Button and Side/Top Button
On iPhones with Touch ID and a top or side button, you’ll need to press the Home button and the top or side button simultaneously. After that, follow the instructions in Step 2 above, and you’re all set!
How to Take a Screenshot on iPad
- First, open your photo in your iPad’s gallery. Tap anywhere on the photo to remove the surrounding menus and text.
- Next, take a screenshot of your photo. If your iPad has a Home button, press both the top button and the Home button at the same time. If your iPad doesn’t have a Home button, simply tap the top button and either volume button at the same time.
- Then, follow Step 2 above to finish the procedure.
Use Windows’s Built-In Metadata Removal Function
In this section, I’ll explain how to easily remove metadata from photos using Windows. You can use this technique to remove metadata from several photos at once. (If you want to remove photo metadata using another one of your devices, here’s how to do that in macOS, Android, or iOS.)
- Locate your photos on your device. In this example, they’re on my Windows 11 desktop, but the procedure is identical for Windows 10. You can edit a single photo or multiple photos at once by clicking and dragging (or holding Ctrl while clicking). Here, I’m removing metadata from 2 photos simultaneously.
- Right-click the photo(s) and select Properties.
- First, click Details, then Remove Properties and Personal Information.
- Click Create a copy with all possible properties removed. Then, click OK. The new files will appear in the same folder as the originals. Again, in my case, they’re on the Desktop, but your photos could be in a different location, depending on where you saved them. And you’re done!
Use a Third-Party App on macOS
I’ll start with how to use a third-party app to remove image metadata on macOS — but feel free to jump to the instructions for Android or iOS at any time. ImageOptim is the best app I’ve found for removing metadata from photos on macOS.
- Download ImageOptim. Go to imageoptim.com and download the software onto your Mac by clicking the green Download for Free button on the homepage.
- Double-click the downloaded file to unpack the archive. Then, double-click the unzipped app file. In my example, the file was downloaded to my Downloads folder — but it could be downloaded somewhere else on your Mac, depending on your settings.
- You may choose to move the unzipped app to your applications folder, but that’s not necessary if you don’t want to. Either way, double-click the unzipped app to open it and click Open on the warning message.
- Now, the next steps are a bit tedious, but they have to be performed in this exact order, and they have to be done before you import any photos! Once the app is open, click the 3 dots surrounded by the circle in the bottom-right corner of the app.
- Click General. Once you’re there, make sure all the settings and items are set exactly as they appear in the screenshot below.
- Once you’ve confirmed the settings, go to the Quality tab. There, make sure Enable lossy minification is deselected to preserve the original quality of your images. If this is selected, the app will compress your images, which may result in lower-quality images being saved.
- Now it’s time to import your photos. First, close the Settings screen by clicking the red “x” icon. Then, drag and drop your photos into the app, or click the “+” icon in the bottom-left corner. The app will automatically process and save them over your original copies. To avoid overwriting the originals, make copies of your photos with different names before importing them. And you’re done!
Use a Third-Party App on Android
Now it’s time to remove metadata from your photos on your Android device. If you have an iPhone or iPad, go to the instructions for iOS instead. Just like on macOS, you’ll need to use a third-party app on Android to remove image metadata — but there are several app options. In this example, I’ll be using a popular free one called Photo Metadata Remover.
- Download and install Photo Metadata Remover from the Google Play Store.
- Open the app and select the option that suits you best. I went with the first option, Choose Photos, since it lets you choose as many as you want at a time.
- Pick your photos for processing. Choose a single one by tapping on it, or choose multiple by tapping and holding. The default folder will be Recent, but you can choose your own photos folder by clicking the 3 horizontal lines in the top left.
- Click Continue on the screen that says Select Destination Folder. Then, choose a folder or create a new one. For the purposes of this example, I created one called Temporary Metadata.
- After you create the folder, tap Allow → Use This Folder.
- Once you tap Use This Folder, your image metadata will be removed and saved to your new folder. I like this system because it doesn’t overwrite your existing images. And you’re done!
Use a Third-Party App on iOS
If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, you’ll need a third-party app to do the job. I recommend Exif Metadata — it’s one of the few good options available.
- Download Exif Metadata from the Apple App Store on your iPhone or iPad.
- Import your photos by tapping the “+” button. You can import as many as you like at the same time.
- Once imported, choose which photos you want to remove the metadata from.
- Once the photos are selected, you’ll first have to convert the images to JPG. Tap OK to complete the conversion process.
- Review the metadata that will be removed if you like. Otherwise, scroll down and tap Remove All Metadata.
- On this final screen, tap No or Yes, depending on whether or not you want to keep the original photo. I recommend always keeping original photos because you never know when you may need them in the future.
What Is Metadata?
Metadata is data embedded within your photos. It includes information such as:
- Date and time of capture.
- Location.
- Type of device used.
- Camera settings.
- File properties, including size and format.
- Editing software used to modify the photo.
While this data can be useful for organizing and cataloging your media, it can also pose significant privacy risks. For instance, if you share a photo online without removing its metadata, anyone with access to that photo could potentially see where and when it was taken. This could lead to unintentional exposure of your location, habits, or other sensitive information.
Understanding, managing, and potentially removing metadata is crucial for maintaining your privacy. By being aware of what metadata is and how it functions, you can take the necessary steps to protect yourself from unwanted tracking or data exposure.
While manually removing metadata is easy on Windows, it requires third-party apps on macOS, Android, and iOS. I also recommend using tools designed to prevent unauthorized access to your personal information, such as a VPN. (You can read more about VPNs and what they do in this extensive guide.) A VPN encrypts your internet connection, making it difficult for third parties to track your online activities or access your metadata through your online communications. While I personally like ExpressVPN, it isn’t the only excellent VPN on the market.
Editors' Note: ExpressVPN and this site are in the same ownership group.
Can You Take Photos Without Metadata?
It’s possible to take photos without metadata, but it’s not easy — it usually requires adjusting settings on your device or using specific apps designed to strip metadata automatically. Most modern smartphones and cameras embed metadata by default, including details like the date, time, and location of the photo. To prevent this data from being included in your photos, you can disable location services for your camera app on your smartphone.
The process for disabling metadata varies depending on the device or camera you’re using. Each device has its own settings and options, so you’ll need to explore your camera or smartphone settings to find the right way to turn off metadata.
Safety Considerations for Sharing Photos Online
When you share photos online, you might be exposing more information than you want. Even when social platforms claim to strip metadata from uploaded images, this isn’t always guaranteed. Additionally, sharing photos through unsecured methods can leave them vulnerable to interception by malicious actors.
To share photos privately, start by removing metadata from your images on Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS. Next, consider sharing photos through secure, encrypted channels. Avoid public platforms where photos can be easily accessed by others, and instead use private messaging apps that offer end-to-end encryption (one of my favorites for this is WhatsApp). Finally, always be cautious about who you’re sharing your photos with and ensure you trust the recipient.
For added security, I also recommend using an antivirus app to protect your devices from malware and phishing attempts that could compromise your photos and other personal information. Norton’s antivirus software is a solid choice because, as well as offering 100% malware protection, it includes features like cloud backup and ransomware protection that help safeguard your files.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I remove metadata from a photo?
To remove metadata from a photo, you can use built-in tools or third-party apps, depending on your device. Windows, for instance, has a built-in feature to help you remove image metadata very easily. Simply right-click the image, go to Properties → Details, and Remove Properties and Personal Information.
If you’re using a Mac, Android, or iOS, you’ll need to use a third-party app to strip the metadata. These apps allow you to remove metadata while preserving the quality of your photos, ensuring your personal information remains private.
How do I remove metadata from photos on iPhone?
To remove metadata from photos on an iPhone, you’ll need to use a third-party app, since iOS doesn’t offer a native option. Apps like Photo Anonymizer and Exif Metadata allow you to strip metadata directly from your device.
Once it’s installed, simply open the app, select the photos you want to clean, and remove the metadata with a few taps. This is a quick and effective way to protect your privacy when sharing images online from your iPhone.
Does screenshotting a photo remove metadata?
Yes, screenshotting a photo removes all of the original metadata, such as the date, time, and location. The screenshot itself will only contain metadata related to when and where the screenshot was taken, not the original image data. As a result, your new image likely won’t contain location information or the type of device that was used to capture the photo.
However, this method is not recommended because it can result in a loss of image quality and may not be ideal for all purposes. If preserving quality is important, it’s better to use dedicated tools for removing metadata while keeping the image intact.
Is it safe to delete metadata?
Yes, it’s safe to delete metadata from your photos. It’s actually a crucial step in protecting your privacy. Metadata often contains sensitive information, such as your location or device details, which can be exploited if shared publicly.
Removing this data ensures that your photos don’t inadvertently reveal personal information when shared online. While some metadata might be useful for organizing your files, deleting it won’t affect the visual quality of the image itself.