There are plenty of free ways to strip metadata from images. They differ in three things that matter: where your image goes (stays on your device, or uploaded to a server), what they remove (just camera data, or AI data such as Content Credentials too), and how easy they are to use.

Here are five free options and who each one suits. Whatever you pick, check one cleaned file in a metadata viewer before you rely on it; the section at the end shows how.

The five tools at a glance

Tool Runs on Where the image goes Best for
AI Metadata Cleaner Any browser Stays on your device AI images, phones, no install
ExifTool Windows, Mac, Linux Stays on your device Command-line users, big folders
ImageOptim Mac Stays on your device Shrinking images for the web
Exif Purge Windows, Mac Stays on your device Simple desktop EXIF removal
VerExif Any browser Uploaded to its server Quick one-off look at EXIF

1. AI Metadata Cleaner

What it is: a free web tool (aimetadatacleaner.com) that cleans images inside your browser, so the photo isn't uploaded anywhere.

What it removes: EXIF (camera, GPS, dates), IPTC, XMP, and AI data: Content Credentials (C2PA) from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Photoshop, IPTC "made by AI" fields, and the prompts and settings Midjourney and Stable Diffusion store in PNG files. It keeps the colour profile and re-reads the cleaned file to confirm nothing identifying is left.

Good to know: JPEG, PNG, WebP and HEIC. Free: 10 images a day, one at a time. Pro removes the daily limit and cleans 10 at once. It also cleans videos, PDFs and RAW photos on separate pages.

Best for: anyone cleaning AI-generated images, or who wants it done on a phone without installing anything.

2. ExifTool

What it is: the long-standing free, open-source metadata tool by Phil Harvey. It reads and writes metadata in hundreds of file formats.

How to use it: from the command line:

exiftool -all= -tagsfromfile @ -icc_profile photo.jpg

That removes the metadata and keeps the colour profile. Point it at a folder to clean everything inside.

Good to know: it edits metadata without re-encoding the image, so quality is untouched. It needs installing and some comfort with a terminal. More in our ExifTool comparison.

Best for: technical users and large batches.

3. ImageOptim

What it is: a free Mac app that makes images smaller for websites. Removing metadata is part of how it saves space, and you can turn that on or off in its preferences.

Good to know: its main job is compression, so check its settings if you care about keeping quality exactly as it was.

Best for: web designers and bloggers on a Mac who shrink images anyway.

4. Exif Purge

What it is: a small free desktop app for Windows and Mac with a point-and-click interface for removing EXIF from a batch of photos.

Good to know: it's built around EXIF. If you're cleaning AI images, test one file to see whether Content Credentials and XMP are removed too.

Best for: people who want a simple desktop app for camera photos.

5. VerExif

What it is: a free website for viewing and removing EXIF data.

Good to know: your image is uploaded to its server to be processed. That's fine for a harmless photo, less so for anything private.

Best for: a quick look at what a single photo contains.

How to check any tool actually worked

  1. Clean a test image with the tool.
  2. Open the cleaned copy in a metadata viewer, or drop it into AI Metadata Cleaner, which lists any metadata it finds before cleaning.
  3. Look for GPS fields, a camera serial number, Content Credentials / C2PA, "Digital Source Type", and "parameters" or "prompt" text.

If any of those are still there, the tool didn't do the job for that kind of file.

Which one should you use?

  • Cleaning AI images, or on a phone: AI Metadata Cleaner.
  • Thousands of files, comfortable with a terminal: ExifTool.
  • Already shrinking images on a Mac: ImageOptim.
  • Anything private: avoid tools that upload your image to a server.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free metadata remover?

It depends on the job. For AI images and use on a phone, a browser tool that doesn't upload your image, such as AI Metadata Cleaner. For large folders on a computer, ExifTool.

Is it safe to remove metadata online?

It depends on the tool. Some upload your image to their server; AI Metadata Cleaner cleans images inside your browser, so the image stays on your device.

Does removing metadata reduce quality?

Not necessarily. ExifTool edits metadata only, and AI Metadata Cleaner's Preserve original quality option removes metadata without re-saving the image. Tools that also compress, like ImageOptim, may change the image.

Do these tools remove AI metadata like Content Credentials?

Tools built only for EXIF may not. Check one cleaned file for Content Credentials or C2PA before relying on any tool for AI images.