Quick answer: AI tools store hidden information inside the image file: Content Credentials, IPTC and XMP fields, and sometimes your full prompt. To remove it, run the image through a metadata cleaner such as AI Metadata Cleaner, use ExifTool if you're comfortable with the command line, or re-save it with an editor that drops metadata. Then check the result. Removing metadata takes away what apps read from the file; it doesn't change the picture itself.

What AI metadata is in your images

Different generators leave different traces. Typical examples:

  • Content Credentials (C2PA). A signed record saying the image was made with AI and by which company. ChatGPT/DALL·E, Google Gemini, Adobe Firefly and Microsoft's image tools add them, and so do Photoshop and Lightroom when you use their generative AI features.
  • IPTC "digital source type". A standard field that can say "made by a trained AI model". Meta's AI tools, among others, use it.
  • Prompt and settings in text fields. Midjourney and many Stable Diffusion apps store the prompt, model, seed and sometimes your username inside PNG text fields or EXIF comments.
  • Ordinary photo metadata. If the image started as a photo, it may still carry GPS location, camera serial number, dates and editing history.

This matters for two reasons. Privacy: your prompts, username, location or client names can travel with every copy you share. Labels: Instagram, Facebook and Threads add an "AI info" label when they find Content Credentials or IPTC AI fields in the file.

Method 1: AI Metadata Cleaner (no install)

  1. Open AI Metadata Cleaner and drop in your image (JPEG, PNG, WebP or HEIC).
  2. Click Process.
  3. Download the cleaned copy.

It works in your browser, so the image isn't uploaded. It removes Content Credentials, EXIF, IPTC, XMP and prompt text, keeps the colour profile, and re-reads the new file to confirm nothing identifying is left. By default it saves a fresh high-quality copy; switch on Preserve original quality if you want the image data left exactly as it was. Free accounts clean 10 images a day; Pro cleans many at once. For videos, PDFs and RAW photos there are separate cleaners for video, PDF and RAW files.

Method 2: ExifTool (free, command line)

ExifTool is the standard free tool for reading and writing metadata on Windows, Mac and Linux.

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

This removes the metadata and puts the colour profile back. For a whole folder, replace image.jpg with the folder name. ExifTool keeps a backup copy ending in _original unless you add -overwrite_original. Check one output file afterwards to confirm the Content Credentials are gone. Our ExifTool comparison goes into the differences.

Method 3: Re-save in an image editor

Many editors drop some or all metadata when you export a new copy, often under an option like "remove metadata" or "export for web". It's convenient but not reliable: editors differ in what they keep, and Photoshop adds its own Content Credentials if you used a generative AI feature. Whatever you use, check the result in a metadata viewer before sharing.

Method 4: On your phone

  • iPhone: in the Photos share sheet, tap Options and turn off Location to share without GPS. That removes the location, not AI data.
  • Android: some gallery apps offer "remove location data" when sharing. Same limit.
  • For everything else, AI Metadata Cleaner works in the phone browser.

How to check an image is clean

Open the cleaned file in a metadata viewer, or drop it into AI Metadata Cleaner again: it lists any metadata it finds before you clean. Look for Content Credentials or C2PA, "Digital Source Type", "parameters" or "prompt" text, GPS fields and a camera serial number.

Does removing metadata make an AI image undetectable?

No, and it's worth being clear about this. Removing metadata takes away the information stored in the file, which is what Meta and many other apps read to add AI labels. It doesn't change the pixels. So:

  • Invisible watermarks stay. Google's SynthID, for example, is hidden in the image itself, and no metadata cleaner removes it.
  • Image-based AI detectors judge the picture itself, and metadata makes no difference to them.
  • Your disclosure duties stay. If a realistic image was made with AI, platform rules and some laws expect you to say so. See is it legal to remove AI metadata.

Where metadata removal clearly helps: keeping your prompts, username and location private, and stopping a misleading "AI info" label on a real photo that was only retouched.

Frequently asked questions

How do I remove AI metadata from a photo?

Use a metadata cleaner such as AI Metadata Cleaner or ExifTool, then check the cleaned file. Removing it takes a few seconds per image.

Does a screenshot remove AI metadata?

A screenshot is a new file, so it usually doesn't carry the original's metadata. It does lower quality and adds your device's own data, so cleaning the original file is better.

Can AI detectors still tell an image is AI after cleaning?

Detectors that read metadata can't. Invisible watermarks such as SynthID and detectors that analyse the image itself are unaffected by metadata removal.

Does removing metadata reduce image quality?

It doesn't have to. AI Metadata Cleaner's Preserve original quality option removes metadata without re-saving the image data, and ExifTool edits metadata only.

Will Instagram still add an AI label after cleaning?

Instagram labels from AI data it finds in the file. Remove that before you upload and there's nothing for it to read. For a post that's already labelled, see how to remove AI info from an Instagram post.