ExifTool and AI Metadata Cleaner both remove metadata from images, but they're built for different people. ExifTool is a free command-line program that can read and write almost any metadata in almost any file. AI Metadata Cleaner is a web tool that removes everything identifying from an image in a couple of clicks, with AI data in mind. Here's how they compare.

At a glance

ExifTool AI Metadata Cleaner
How you use it Command line (Windows, Mac, Linux) Web page, any device
Install Yes No
Where the image goes Stays on your computer Stays on your device (cleaned in the browser)
Formats Hundreds, including video, PDF and RAW JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC in the browser; video, PDF and RAW on separate pages
Removes EXIF, IPTC, XMP Yes Yes
Removes Content Credentials (C2PA) Yes, with the right options Yes, automatically
Removes prompt text in PNGs Yes Yes
Keeps the colour profile If you tell it to Yes
Edit or keep individual tags Yes, very fine control No, it removes everything identifying
Checks the result for you You check it Re-reads the cleaned file and reports
Changes the image pixels Never By default a tiny, invisible change; off in "Preserve original quality"
Batch Unlimited, whole folders Free: 1 at a time, 10 a day. Pro: 10 at once
Cost Free Free, or paid plans for more

ExifTool: maximum control

ExifTool, written by Phil Harvey and first released in 2003, is the reference tool for metadata. It can read, edit, copy and delete individual tags across hundreds of file types.

To remove everything and keep the colour profile:

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

Point it at a folder and it processes every file inside. It never re-encodes the image, so quality is untouched.

The trade-off is that you need to know what you're doing: which options to use, how different formats store metadata, and how to check the result. That's easy for developers and photographers who live in a terminal, and hard for everyone else.

AI Metadata Cleaner: no setup, AI data included

AI Metadata Cleaner runs in your browser. You drop in an image, click Process and download a clean copy. The image isn't uploaded; it's cleaned on your device.

It removes EXIF (GPS, camera, dates, serial numbers), IPTC and XMP, Content Credentials, and the prompt and settings text that Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and ComfyUI store in PNG files, keeps the colour profile, then re-reads the output and tells you if anything identifying is left.

By default it also saves a fresh high-quality copy with a tiny, invisible change to the pixels, so the copy you share doesn't carry the same image fingerprint as your original file. If you'd rather keep the image data exactly as it was, turn on Preserve original quality: it then removes the metadata only, like ExifTool.

What it doesn't do: it can't remove watermarks hidden in the pixels themselves, such as Google's SynthID, and it can't edit or keep individual tags the way ExifTool can.

Which should you use?

Choose ExifTool if:

  • you're comfortable on the command line
  • you need to keep some tags (copyright, keywords) and remove others
  • you're processing large folders or scripting it into a workflow
  • you work with unusual file formats

Choose AI Metadata Cleaner if:

  • you want it done in seconds with no setup, including on a phone
  • you're cleaning AI images and don't want to learn which tags hold AI data
  • you want the result checked for you

Plenty of people use both: ExifTool for bulk jobs, the web tool for a quick clean before posting.

How to check either result

Open a cleaned file in a metadata viewer (or run exiftool -a -G1 cleaned.jpg) and look for GPS fields, a camera serial number, C2PA / Content Credentials, Digital Source Type, and parameters or prompt text.

Frequently asked questions

Does ExifTool remove Content Credentials?

It can remove the metadata blocks that hold them. Check the output afterwards to confirm.

Is AI Metadata Cleaner as private as ExifTool?

For images, yes: both keep the image on your device. ExifTool works fully offline; the web tool needs the page to load first.

Does either tool remove AI watermarks like SynthID?

No. SynthID is hidden in the pixels, not the metadata. Metadata tools don't remove it.

No. It removes all identifying metadata. If you need to keep specific tags, use ExifTool.