Phones get the attention, but plenty of videos are edited and shared from a computer: exported from an editor, downloaded from a camera, or pulled off a phone to send by email. The metadata comes along: location, device, dates, the software used and, increasingly, AI labels.

Here's what Mac and Windows can remove with their built-in tools, where those tools fall short, and three ways to clean a video completely.

On Windows: the Properties trick (and its limits)

Windows has a built-in remover:

  1. Right-click the video → Properties → Details.
  2. Click Remove Properties and Personal Information at the bottom.
  3. Choose Create a copy with all possible properties removed, or pick individual fields.

It works for some fields in some formats. For many MP4 files it can clear the title, author and comments. But it only knows about the properties Windows itself displays. It doesn't touch GPS in iPhone MOV files, per-stream tags, AI labels or extra data tracks, and for MOV files the option is often greyed out entirely. Treat it as a way to clear the fields you can see, not the whole file.

On Mac: no built-in remover

macOS doesn't have a "remove metadata" button for videos. The usual workarounds:

  • Re-exporting from QuickTime Player or iMovie creates a new file. That can drop some details, but it re-encodes the video, which loses quality and takes time on long clips, and the new file gets its own dates and software details.
  • Photos app: for videos in your library, Image → Location → Hide Location or Adjust Location. Exporting with File → Export → Export Unmodified Original keeps everything; the standard Export has an option to leave location out.

None of these is a clean sweep, and the re-export route costs quality.

Three ways to clean a video completely

1. In your browser (any computer)

Drop the file on our video metadata remover. Without an account, you'll first see what the file carries, read in your browser without uploading it. With a free account, click Clean:

  • Location, device, dates, software, author, comments and AI labels (C2PA) are removed.
  • Only the video and sound are kept; subtitles, cover art and extra data tracks are dropped.
  • Nothing is re-encoded. The frames and sound are copied across unchanged, and we check each one against the original.
  • The clean file is read again to confirm nothing identifying is left.

Files go to our server in Germany over an encrypted connection and are deleted straight after cleaning (the clean copy after its one download, or 15 minutes). MP4, MOV, M4V, 3GP, MKV and WebM are supported. Free accounts get 3 cleans a month; Pro gets 100 and batches of up to 10 files.

2. ffmpeg (free, command line)

ffmpeg runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. This command removes the metadata without re-encoding:

ffmpeg -i in.mov -map 0:v -map 0:a? -map_metadata -1 -map_metadata:s -1 -map_chapters -1 -c copy out.mov

What each part does:

  • -map 0:v -map 0:a? keeps only the video and audio. If you use -map 0 instead, you copy everything, including iPhone's hidden data tracks.
  • -map_metadata -1 drops the file-level details.
  • -map_metadata:s -1 drops the per-stream details. Without it, tags such as the phone model survive on the video stream.
  • -c copy copies without re-encoding, so there's no quality loss.

ffmpeg will write its own small "Lavf" label into the new file. That names ffmpeg, not you.

3. ExifTool (free, command line), with a warning

exiftool -all= video.mp4 is a common suggestion. In our tests on videos, it left the recording dates and Apple's own device labels in place. It's fine for photos, less complete for video. If you use it, check the result.

How to check the result

Whatever you use, check the output before you send it:

  • Windows: Properties → Details.
  • Mac: Finder → Get Info.
  • Everything: drop the cleaned file on our video metadata page while signed out, or run exiftool -a -G1 out.mov.

For more on what the viewers show and don't, see how to check a video's metadata and location.

Frequently asked questions

How do I remove metadata from a video on Windows 10 or 11?

Right-click the file → Properties → Details → Remove Properties and Personal Information. It clears the fields Windows can see, mainly in MP4 files. For GPS, AI labels and hidden data tracks, use a dedicated tool or ffmpeg.

How do I remove metadata from a video on a Mac?

macOS has no built-in remover for videos. Use a browser-based tool like ours, or ffmpeg in Terminal. Re-exporting from QuickTime or iMovie creates a new file but re-encodes it and loses quality.

Can I remove metadata without losing quality?

Yes, as long as the tool copies the video instead of re-encoding it. Our tool and the ffmpeg command above both copy the frames unchanged.

Does renaming or converting a video remove its metadata?

Renaming doesn't touch the metadata at all. Converting to another format creates a new file and may drop some details, but it re-encodes the video and can carry details across anyway.

Why is "Remove Properties and Personal Information" greyed out?

Windows can only edit properties for the formats it has a handler for. It's often unavailable for MOV files and some MKV files. Use one of the other methods above.