Remove EXIF data from JPEG photos — no upload, no quality loss
JPEG is where almost all photo metadata lives: EXIF with GPS coordinates, XMP edit history, IPTC captions, comments. Cut it all out at the binary level — your photos never touch a server.
ScrubExif runs entirely in your browser — no upload, no server, works offline.
What's inside a typical JPEG
Removed from your JPEG
- APP1 / Exif — GPS, camera, timestamps, settings, thumbnail
- APP1 / XMP — edit history, software, rights fields
- APP13 / IPTC — captions, keywords, Photoshop resources
- COM — plain-text comments
Kept intact
- Every compressed pixel — no re-encoding, no recompression
- APP0 / JFIF header — baseline compatibility
- APP2 / ICC color profile — colors stay true
- Dimensions, orientation markers, progressive structure
Why JPEG metadata deserves attention
Every phone camera and most dedicated cameras write a full EXIF record into each JPEG: the exact date and time, device make and model, exposure settings — and, unless you turned it off, precise GPS coordinates. Photo editors add another layer: XMP blocks recording which software touched the file, and IPTC blocks with captions and copyright. Some apps even leave an embedded thumbnail of the photo before your edits.
None of this is visible when you look at the picture — but anyone who receives the original file can read all of it with a viewer like our EXIF inspector. Social networks usually strip metadata on upload; email, cloud links, messaging apps and marketplaces mostly don't. If you're curious what a specific photo leaks, the EXIF guide walks through every field.
Frequently asked questions
Where does metadata hide in a JPEG file?
In labeled segments between the image data. APP1 segments carry EXIF (camera, settings, GPS) and Adobe XMP; APP13 carries IPTC captions and Photoshop resources; COM segments carry plain-text comments. ScrubExif walks the segment chain and physically removes these blocks.
Will my JPEG look identical after cleaning?
Yes. JPEG quality lives in the compressed image stream (the SOS segment), which we never touch. We only cut metadata segments, so pixels, dimensions and color rendering stay exactly the same — and your ICC color profile (APP2) is deliberately preserved so colors don't shift.
Does JPG and JPEG mean anything different here?
No — .jpg is just the shorter extension Windows gave the same format. Any JPEG file, whatever its extension, gets the same treatment: EXIF, XMP, IPTC and comments removed; JFIF header and color profile kept.
What about the embedded thumbnail inside JPEG?
The EXIF segment often contains a miniature copy of the original photo — and in some editing apps that thumbnail can predate your edits. Because the whole EXIF segment is removed, the thumbnail goes with it.
Cleaning other formats
PNG metadata remover →
Screenshots and exports carry tEXt/iTXt chunks — software tags, author fields, even timestamps.
WebP metadata remover →
Google's web format carries EXIF and XMP inside its container — stripped the same lossless way.
GPS data guide →
Turn off geotagging at the source and clean photos you've already taken.