PDF & Image Metadata Remover Strip EXIF, GPS, and Hidden Data Before You Upload

What this tool does

This tool takes PDF documents and image files and removes the hidden metadata stored inside them. You drop the files onto the page, the tool reads what metadata each file carries, and then it produces a cleaned version with the metadata stripped out. The visible content — the text, the pages, the pixels — is untouched. Only the invisible information is removed.

The tool handles two file types. For images, it strips EXIF, IPTC, and XMP metadata, which includes GPS coordinates, camera make and model, serial numbers, timestamps, editing software, artist names, and copyright notices. For PDFs, it clears the document information dictionary and the XMP metadata stream, which covers Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, and the creation and modification dates.

Everything runs inside your browser. Your files are never uploaded to a server, never copied to a database, and never seen by anyone but you. If you press the AI insight button, only an anonymous summary of the metadata types found — such as whether GPS data was present — is sent to a small serverless function that runs once and then stops.

What metadata is and why it matters in the UK

Metadata is information about a file that is stored inside the file but is not visible when you open it normally. In a photo, metadata can include the exact latitude and longitude where the picture was taken, the make and model of the phone or camera, the date and time, and in some cases the serial number of the device. In a PDF, metadata can include the name of the person who wrote the document, the software used to create it, the original title, and the full revision history.

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office has been clear that metadata can be personal data. The ICO's 2025 guidance on anonymisation explains that even when visible identifiers are removed, hidden technical information can make re-identification "reasonably likely," which brings the file back into the scope of UK GDPR. The ICO's separate guidance on disclosing documents to the public, published in July 2025, specifically warns that metadata can contain hidden personal information and recommends using tools to detect and remove it before publication.

This matters in everyday situations. A letting agent who uploads property photos that still carry GPS coordinates is publishing the exact location of the property and potentially the photographer's home. A job applicant who sends a CV as a PDF with the author field still populated is revealing their full name and the software they used. A council responding to a Freedom of Information request that includes a Word document converted to PDF may accidentally disclose the name of the original author or internal file paths in the metadata.

What the tool removes from images

The tool strips every standard metadata block from image files. That includes:

• EXIF data. The camera make and model, the device serial number, the date and time the photo was taken, the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and focal length.
• GPS coordinates. The exact latitude and longitude where the photo was taken, plus altitude and direction if recorded.
• IPTC data. Captions, keywords, bylines, credit lines, and copyright notices.
• XMP data. Editing history, colour grading settings, and any custom metadata added by editing software.
• Thumbnails. The embedded preview image, which can sometimes show the original uncropped version of a photo.
• Software tags. The name and version of the app used to take or edit the photo.

The stripping works by re-encoding the image through the HTML5 canvas. When a browser draws an image onto a canvas, it reads only the pixel data. It does not carry over any of the ancillary metadata chunks. When the canvas is exported back to a file, the output contains only pixels. This is the most reliable way to remove metadata without parsing the binary EXIF structure by hand, and it works on JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, and AVIF.

What the tool removes from PDFs

PDF metadata lives in two places: the document information dictionary and the XMP metadata stream. The tool clears both.

The information dictionary carries eight standard fields: Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, CreationDate, and ModificationDate. The Creator field records the application that made the original document, and the Producer field records the application that converted it to PDF. Both can reveal the software you use and, in some cases, the name of your organisation or the original file path on your computer.

The XMP stream is a separate XML block inside the PDF that can carry additional metadata using standards like Dublin Core and the PDF/A schema. The tool clears the standard fields in this stream as well.

The stripping uses pdf-lib, a JavaScript library that runs entirely in the browser. The tool loads the PDF, sets every metadata field to an empty value, and saves a new copy. The page content, fonts, images, and layout are copied across without change.

UK GDPR and the data minimisation principle

UK GDPR does not contain a rule that says "thou shalt strip metadata." But Article 5(1)(c), the data minimisation principle, requires that personal data be "adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed." If you are sharing a document or a photo that contains hidden personal data, and that hidden data is not necessary for the purpose of the sharing, keeping it in place is difficult to justify under the principle.

The ICO's guidance on data minimisation explains that the principle has three parts. Data must be adequate for the purpose, relevant to the purpose, and limited to what is necessary. A photo of a rental property does not need to carry the photographer's GPS coordinates to serve its purpose. A CV sent to a recruiter does not need to carry the author's full name in the PDF metadata when the name is already in the CV itself. A document released under FOI does not need to carry the internal file paths or the name of the civil servant who drafted it.

Where metadata contains personal data that is not necessary, removing it is one of the simplest ways to comply with the minimisation principle. It costs nothing, it does not change the visible content, and it reduces the risk of an accidental data breach.

When UK organisations must remove metadata

The ICO's 2025 guidance on disclosing documents to the public sets out a clear expectation: before publishing documents, organisations should check for hidden personal information, including metadata, and remove it. The guidance covers Freedom of Information responses, subject access requests, and any other publication of documents that contain personal data.

The guidance specifically recommends using software tools to identify hidden information. For Office documents, the ICO points to Microsoft Document Inspector. For PDFs and images, the same principle applies: the metadata should be reviewed and removed where it contains personal data that is not necessary for the disclosure.

This is not limited to public authorities. Any UK organisation that handles personal data — a letting agent, a recruitment agency, a school, a GP surgery, a small business — has an obligation under UK GDPR to handle that data lawfully, including when it is hidden inside file metadata.

How the stripping works

For images, the tool decodes the file into pixel data using the browser's built-in image decoder, draws the pixels onto a canvas, and then re-encodes the canvas back into a file. The canvas API does not preserve any EXIF, IPTC, or XMP blocks, so the output is clean. JPEG images are re-encoded at 92% quality, which is visually indistinguishable from the original in almost all cases. PNG images are re-encoded losslessly, so there is no quality loss at all.

For PDFs, the tool uses pdf-lib to parse the PDF, clear the metadata fields in the information dictionary and the XMP stream, and write a new PDF file. The page objects, fonts, and embedded images are copied without modification. The output is a standard PDF that opens in any reader.

Both processes run synchronously in your browser tab. There is no network request, no upload, and no server-side processing.

A worked example

Suppose a small letting agency in Manchester wants to publish photos of a flat on its website and on a property portal. The photographer takes the photos on a phone, and the files arrive with the usual EXIF data attached. One photo carries GPS coordinates that pinpoint the building to within a few metres. Another carries the photographer's name in the Artist field and the phone model in the Make and Model fields. A third carries a timestamp showing exactly when the photographer was at the property.

The agency drops the photos into the tool. The tool reads the metadata and shows what it found: GPS data in one file, Artist and device info in another, timestamps in all three. The agency clicks Strip metadata and download. The tool produces three cleaned photos with no EXIF, no GPS, and no device information. The pixels are unchanged, so the flat still looks the same in the photos. The agency uploads the cleaned files to the website and the portal.

Now suppose the same agency also has a PDF tenancy agreement that it wants to send to a new tenant as a sample. The PDF carries the original author's name, the name of the solicitor's firm in the Producer field, and an internal file path that reveals the structure of the agency's shared drive. The agency drops the PDF into the tool. The tool clears all the metadata fields and produces a clean copy. The visible text of the agreement is unchanged. The hidden information is gone.

Common mistakes

Assuming that a "clean" file is actually clean. Many people believe that a file downloaded from a phone or a camera does not contain metadata. It almost always does. The metadata is added automatically by the device, and most people never see it because it is hidden.

Thinking that the padlock or the file type protects you. Metadata is inside the file, not on the connection. Sending a file over HTTPS does not remove its metadata. The file arrives at the other end with the GPS coordinates and the author name intact.

Only checking the visible content. The ICO's guidance is explicit on this point: redacting visible text is not enough if the hidden metadata still contains personal data. The file has to be inspected as a whole, not just the part you can see on the page.

Forgetting about spreadsheets and documents. This tool handles PDFs and images. It does not handle Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, or email files, all of which can carry metadata. Those formats need a different approach, such as Microsoft Document Inspector or a dedicated metadata-removal tool for Office files.

Where the tool stops

This tool removes document-level metadata. It does not remove tracked changes, comments, embedded files, hidden layers, or form data inside a PDF. Those are separate categories of hidden information that require a different kind of inspection. If you are preparing a document for disclosure and it contains tracked changes or comments, you need a full document inspection tool in addition to this one.

The tool also does not verify that the metadata has been removed. It produces a cleaned file, and you can check the output with any metadata viewer to confirm that the fields are empty. But the tool itself does not run a post-strip verification pass.

Finally, the tool does not handle every possible file type. It covers the common image formats and PDF. It does not cover HEIC images from some iPhones if your browser cannot display them, and it does not cover video files, audio files, or Office documents. For those, you need a dedicated tool.

Sources

The guidance, principles, and technical references described on this page come from the sources listed below. Every source is public and can be checked directly.