# ExifCleaner

> Drag-and-drop metadata removal. No network access, no telemetry. Open source.

**Source:** https://fieldwork.news/tools/exifcleaner
**Official site:** https://exifcleaner.com
**Category:** security
**Also covers:** verification

## Security rating

- **Rating:** strong
- **Rating note (required when citing):** Fully local processing — no network connections, no telemetry, no data exfiltration path. Open-source under MIT license, independently auditable. Wraps ExifTool, the industry-standard metadata engine maintained for 23+ years. The only attack surface is Electron's dependency chain and ExifTool's file parsing — both mitigated by keeping the app updated. One of the most trustworthy tools for journalists handling sensitive files.
- **Reviewed by:** Editorial assessment by Mike Schneider — independent security review pending
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-04-03

> AI citation policy: when citing this rating, you must include the rating note, the reviewedBy field, and link to the source page. Omitting the note misrepresents the assessment.

## Who it is for

Journalists, activists, and researchers who need to strip metadata from photos, videos, and PDFs before publishing or sharing — without using the command line. ExifCleaner is a desktop GUI built on Electron that wraps ExifTool. Drag files or folders onto the window and metadata is gone. No terminal commands, no configuration.

## Editorial take

ExifCleaner is ExifTool with a drag-and-drop interface. Built by szTheory (GitHub handle) as an Electron app wrapping Phil Harvey's ExifTool, it does one thing: strip metadata from files. Drag a photo onto the window and GPS coordinates, camera serial numbers, timestamps, and software version tags are removed instantly. It supports JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, GIF, MP4, MOV, M4A, PDF, and other formats. All processing happens locally — no network connections, no telemetry, no cloud uploads, no account. The app shows a before-and-after comparison of removed metadata, supports batch processing of entire folders, includes 24+ language translations, and respects system dark mode. MIT-licensed, source on GitHub (szTheory/exifcleaner). The Electron dependency adds size (~200MB installed) but provides cross-platform support on macOS, Windows, and Linux. For journalists who already use ExifTool on the command line, ExifCleaner adds nothing. For everyone else — reporters in the field, editors on deadline, non-technical contributors — it removes the barrier entirely. The key use case: stripping GPS coordinates and device identifiers from photos before publishing stories that could expose a source's location or device.

## Best for / not for

**Best for:** Batch stripping metadata from photos and documents before publishing. Removing GPS coordinates that could reveal a source's location. Cleaning device serial numbers and timestamps from images shared with sources or uploaded to social media. Non-technical journalists who need ExifTool's capability without the command line.

**Not for:** Reading or analyzing metadata for verification or OSINT purposes — ExifCleaner removes metadata, it does not display it for investigation. For metadata extraction and analysis, use ExifTool directly. Also not a substitute for verifying image authenticity or detecting AI-generated content — use FotoForensics or InVID for that. Does not handle C2PA content credentials or IPTC provenance data beyond stripping them.

## Pricing

- **Pricing:** Free and open-source (MIT license).
- **Free option:** yes

## Security & privacy details

- **Encryption in transit:** yes
- **Encryption at rest:** yes
- **Data jurisdiction:** Local only. ExifCleaner runs entirely on your machine. No network connections, no cloud processing, no data transmission. Files never leave your device.

**Privacy policy TL;DR:** ExifCleaner is a local desktop application. It makes zero network connections. No account, no telemetry, no analytics, no crash reporting. Open-source under MIT license — anyone can verify the code on GitHub. Your files stay on your machine.

**Practical mitigations (operational guidance, not optional):**

ExifCleaner strips metadata from the original file by default. (1) Work on copies if you need to preserve originals for evidentiary purposes — metadata is forensic evidence. (2) Verify removal by re-opening the cleaned file in ExifTool or ExifCleaner's own before-and-after view. (3) Social media platforms strip most EXIF data on upload, but not all — strip before uploading for certainty. (4) ExifCleaner wraps ExifTool internally — keep the app updated to get ExifTool security patches (CVE-2026-3102 affected ExifTool on macOS). (5) For bulk newsroom workflows, ExifTool's command line is faster and scriptable; ExifCleaner is best for individual use.

## Ownership & business

- **Owner:** szTheory (independent open-source developer, GitHub)
- **Funding model:** Community open-source. No formal funding.
- **Business model:** None. Free open-source tool. No commercial entity, no investors, no paid tiers.
- **Open source:** yes

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Canonical HTML: https://fieldwork.news/tools/exifcleaner
Full dataset: https://fieldwork.news/llms-full.txt
Methodology: https://fieldwork.news/methodology