How to use the exif viewer & remover
- Add your photos. Drop photos onto the box or click to choose them. A sample holiday photo is loaded first so you can see the kind of data cameras and phones save.
- See what each photo reveals. Click a photo to list its metadata, grouped into location, dates, camera settings and identifiers. If GPS coordinates are present you’ll see a warning, with an optional link to check the spot on a map.
- Choose what to keep. Rotation and the colour profile are kept by default. Neither identifies you, and removing them can make photos display sideways or with duller colours.
- Download the clean copies. Download one photo, or every photo as a ZIP. The originals on your device are not changed.
What is EXIF data?
EXIF is information your camera or phone saves inside every photo: the make and model, lens and exposure settings, the date and time, and often the exact GPS position where it was taken. Editing apps add their own details too, such as the software used and, in some cases, your name. Most of it is invisible unless you go looking.
Why remove it before sharing?
A photo of your new house, your child’s school play or an item you’re selling can reveal where you live, down to a few metres. Camera and lens serial numbers can link photos posted under different accounts back to the same person. Many social networks strip metadata when you upload, but email, messaging apps that send files, cloud links, forums and your own website often keep every byte.
Lossless removal
Most online EXIF removers decode your photo and save it again, which re-compresses it and loses a little quality every time. Refract instead cuts the metadata blocks out of the file and leaves the compressed image data exactly as it was, so the clean copy looks identical and is usually a few kilobytes smaller.
Frequently asked questions
Are my photos uploaded?
No. Photos are read and cleaned by your own browser. Nothing is sent to Refract or anyone else, which matters when the whole point is privacy.
Does removing EXIF reduce image quality?
No. The image data isn’t re-compressed. Only the metadata sections of the file are removed.
Why keep the rotation setting?
Phones often save photos sideways and use an EXIF orientation tag to display them upright. Removing that tag can make photos appear rotated. Refract keeps only that single number, which reveals nothing about you.
Which formats are supported?
JPEG, PNG and WebP. HEIC photos from iPhones aren’t supported yet; export them as JPEG first, or change your iPhone camera setting to Most Compatible.
Does this remove the location from iPhone and Android photos?
Yes. Phone GPS data is stored in the photo’s EXIF block, which is removed completely from the clean copy.