What is EXIF Data? Complete Guide to Photo Metadata

EXIF data is hidden metadata that your camera or phone embeds into every photo you take. This invisible information can reveal exactly when and where you took a picture, what camera settings you used, and potentially your home address if GPS was enabled. Most people have no idea this data exists until it becomes a privacy problem.

EXIF stands for Exchangeable Image File Format. Developed by the Japan Electronic Industries Development Association (JEIDA) in 1995 and standardized by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), EXIF has become the universal standard for storing technical metadata in digital photographs. Every modern camera and smartphone embeds this data automatically at the moment of capture.

The metadata lives inside your image file’s header, separate from the actual pixel data. You can’t see it by looking at the photo, but any software that reads EXIF tags can extract detailed information about how, when, and where the image was created.

What Information Does EXIF Contain?

EXIF metadata includes dozens of fields covering camera specifications, capture settings, image properties, timestamps, location data, and software information. The exact fields present depend on your camera or phone model and settings.

Complete EXIF Fields Reference

Field Category	Specific Fields	What They Reveal
Camera Info	Make, Model, Serial Number, Firmware Version	Exact camera or phone model, unique device identifier
Capture Settings	Shutter Speed, Aperture (F-Stop), ISO Speed, Focal Length, Flash Mode, White Balance, Metering Mode, Exposure Compensation	Complete technical settings used for the shot
Image Properties	Width, Height, Resolution (DPI), Color Space (sRGB/Adobe RGB), Compression, Orientation	File structure and display specifications
Date & Time	Date/Time Original, Date/Time Digitized, Modify Date, Time Zone Offset	When photo was taken and last modified
GPS Location	Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, GPS Timestamp, Speed, Direction, Map Datum	Precise coordinates where photo was taken
Lens Information	Lens Make, Lens Model, Min/Max Focal Length, Max Aperture	Specific lens used for the shot
Software	Software, Processing Software, Creator Tool	What apps edited or processed the image
Copyright	Artist, Copyright, Image Description, User Comment	Attribution and ownership information
Thumbnail	Embedded Preview Image	Small preview of the photo stored in metadata

Camera-Specific Extensions

Professional cameras add manufacturer-specific tags:

Canon: Lens ID, Internal Serial Number, AF Points Used
Nikon: Shot Info, Lens Data, Flash Info, ISO Setting
Sony: Sony Model ID, AF Mode, Quality Mode
iPhone: Apple Software Version, Run Time Flags, Acceleration Vector

A single photo can contain 100+ individual EXIF fields depending on the device.

How EXIF Data Gets Created

EXIF metadata is written to your image file at the exact moment your camera’s shutter closes. The process happens in milliseconds before the file is saved to your memory card.

The Capture Process

When you press the shutter button, your camera’s image processor performs these operations in sequence:

Image sensor capture - Light hits the sensor and converts to digital data
Metadata collection - Camera reads current settings from all subsystems
EXIF header creation - Data structured according to TIFF 6.0 specification
GPS lookup (if enabled) - Device queries GPS chip for current coordinates
File writing - EXIF header embedded, then image data appended
Memory card storage - Complete file saved as JPEG, TIFF, or RAW

Your camera’s internal clock provides the timestamp. The GPS receiver (if present and enabled) adds location coordinates. The lens communicates its focal length and aperture electronically. The image processor records ISO, shutter speed, and other capture settings.

Smartphone Additions

Modern smartphones add extra layers of metadata:

Location Services - Apps like Camera request GPS from iOS/Android location services
Device Motion - Gyroscope data can record device orientation and movement
Scene Detection - AI identifies subjects (person, food, sunset) and logs the scene type
Computational Photography - HDR mode, Night Mode, Portrait Mode settings recorded
App Signature - Third-party camera apps add their own identifier

Photos taken with Instagram, Snapchat, or other apps contain different EXIF fields than native camera apps.

Editing Software Signatures

Every time you edit a photo, the software appends its signature to the EXIF data. This creates a chain of custody:

Adobe Lightroom - Adds “Adobe Photoshop Lightroom” to Software field, includes catalog ID
Photoshop - Records “Adobe Photoshop” plus version number, modification timestamp
GIMP - Writes “GIMP” version number
iPhone Photos - Adds “Photos [version number]” when you crop or adjust

This metadata trail can prove authenticity or reveal extensive manipulation.

EXIF Standard Evolution

Version	Year	Key Changes
EXIF 1.0	1995	Initial specification, basic camera data
EXIF 2.1	1998	Added interoperability index, color space
EXIF 2.2	2002	Added PrintIM support, improved file handling
EXIF 2.21	2003	Added Windows XP tags (Title, Comments, Keywords)
EXIF 2.3	2010	Added lens information, gamma, GPS enhancements
EXIF 2.31	2016	Current standard, improved compatibility
EXIF 2.32	2019	Expanded tag definitions, better GPS precision

The standard continues evolving to support new camera features like computational photography and AI scene detection.

Privacy Implications of EXIF Data

GPS-enabled EXIF data can reveal your home address, workplace, daily routines, and travel patterns. This metadata persists even when you share photos online, creating serious privacy risks.

Real-World Privacy Breaches

Military Operations Exposed (2007) - U.S. Army helicopters in Iraq had their exact base locations revealed when soldiers posted geotagged photos. The metadata showed coordinates of previously classified military installations.

John McAfee Location Leak (2012) - The fugitive software founder’s location was exposed when a journalist photographed him with an iPhone. The EXIF data revealed GPS coordinates in Guatemala, leading to his arrest.

Home Invasions - Burglars have used geotagged vacation photos to identify empty homes. Social media posts showing “enjoying the beach” with embedded GPS data from your driveway create opportunities for theft.

Stalking Cases - Domestic violence survivors have been tracked through EXIF data in photos they shared with support groups or online forums.

What Platforms Preserve vs Strip EXIF

Not all platforms handle metadata the same way. Some preserve full EXIF data, while others strip everything:

Platform	EXIF Handling	What Survives
Twitter	Strips all GPS/location	Camera model, timestamp, some settings
Facebook	Strips GPS on public posts	Camera model, timestamp (privacy settings affect this)
Instagram	Strips all EXIF	Nothing - completely cleaned
WhatsApp	Strips all EXIF	Nothing - images re-compressed
iMessage	Preserves everything	Full EXIF including GPS
Email Attachments	Preserves everything	Full EXIF including GPS
Discord	Strips most EXIF	May preserve timestamps
Reddit	Depends on upload method	Direct uploads strip GPS, linked images preserve
Imgur	Strips GPS	Camera model and settings may remain
Flickr	User-controlled settings	You choose what to display publicly
Google Photos	Preserves in original	Visible to you, not public by default
iCloud Photo Sharing	Preserves everything	Full EXIF visible to album members

Critical Rule: Never assume a platform strips EXIF. Always remove sensitive metadata before uploading if privacy matters.

Location Precision

GPS EXIF data is shockingly precise. Standard GPS coordinates are recorded to six decimal places, which translates to accuracy within 4 inches (10 centimeters). This is enough to identify:

The specific room in your house where you took a photo
Which parking spot you used
The exact trail marker on a hiking path
Your desk location in an office building

Altitude data can even reveal which floor of a building you were on.

How to View EXIF Data

You can examine EXIF metadata using built-in operating system tools, command-line utilities, or dedicated applications. No special software installation is required for basic viewing.

Windows Built-In Method

Right-click any image file and select Properties. Click the Details tab to see EXIF fields:

Origin Section:
- Date taken
- Date acquired
- Copyright

Image Section:
- Dimensions
- Width/Height
- Horizontal/Vertical resolution
- Bit depth
- Compression

Camera Section:
- Camera maker
- Camera model
- F-stop
- Exposure time
- ISO speed
- Exposure bias
- Focal length
- Max aperture
- Metering mode
- Flash mode

This shows common fields but omits many technical tags.

macOS Built-In Method

Right-click (or Control-click) an image and select Get Info. The More Info section displays basic EXIF data. For complete metadata, open the image in Preview, then go to Tools → Show Inspector (Cmd+I). Click the ⓘ icon for detailed EXIF, IPTC, and GPS information.

iPhone/iPad

Open a photo in the Photos app and swipe up. The info panel shows:

Capture date and time
Camera model
File size
Dimensions
Map showing GPS location (if present)

Tap the map to see exact coordinates.

Android

Open Google Photos and select an image. Tap the ⓘ icon or three-dot menu, then select Details. This shows camera model, timestamp, file size, and location on a map.

Command Line Tools

ExifTool is the industry standard for complete EXIF extraction. It reads over 200 file types and extracts every possible metadata field.

Install ExifTool:

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install exiftool

# Windows (Chocolatey)
choco install exiftool

# Linux (apt)
sudo apt-get install libimage-exiftool-perl

View all EXIF data:

exiftool photo.jpg

View specific fields:

# GPS coordinates only
exiftool -GPSPosition photo.jpg

# Camera settings only
exiftool -ISO -FNumber -ExposureTime -FocalLength photo.jpg

# Export to JSON
exiftool -json photo.jpg > metadata.json

Windows PowerShell can extract basic properties without third-party tools:

Get-ItemProperty .\photo.jpg | Select-Object *

Linux identify command (ImageMagick):

identify -verbose photo.jpg

Online EXIF Viewers

Web-based tools like our EXIF Viewer let you drag-and-drop images for instant analysis. Reputable tools process files in your browser without uploading them to servers, preserving privacy.

Key advantage: No software installation required. Works on any device with a browser.

Browser Developer Tools

Modern browsers can display EXIF data directly:

Open your image in a new browser tab
Press F12 to open Developer Tools
Go to the Network tab
Reload the page
Click the image request
View response headers (some servers include EXIF in headers)

This method is limited and unreliable compared to dedicated tools.

How to Edit or Remove EXIF Data

You should remove GPS coordinates and identifying information before sharing photos publicly. Camera settings and timestamps are usually safe to keep for photography communities.

When to Keep EXIF Data

Photography portfolios - Settings help others learn from your technique
Stock photography - Buyers want to know camera and lens used
Photo contests - Judges may require original EXIF to verify authenticity
Insurance claims - Timestamps prove when damage occurred
Legal evidence - Metadata establishes chain of custody
Personal archives - Helps you organize and search your photo library

When to Remove EXIF Data

Social media posts - Prevents location tracking
Online sales - Don’t reveal your home address via GPS
Public forums - Removes device identifiers
Sensitive locations - Hospitals, schools, private property
Anonymity required - Whistleblowing, journalism, activism
Business security - Corporate photos may leak office locations

Removing EXIF with ExifTool

Strip all metadata from a copy:

exiftool -all= -o clean_photo.jpg original_photo.jpg

Remove GPS data only:

exiftool -gps:all= photo.jpg

Remove GPS from all JPEGs in a folder:

exiftool -gps:all= *.jpg

Batch process with backup:

exiftool -all= -r -ext jpg /path/to/photos
# Creates .jpg_original backups

Removing EXIF on Windows

Right-click the image → Properties → Details tab → Remove Properties and Personal Information. Choose either:

Create a copy with all possible properties removed
Remove the following properties from this file (select specific fields)

This method has limitations - it can’t remove manufacturer-specific tags or deeply embedded metadata.

Removing EXIF on macOS

macOS doesn’t include a built-in EXIF removal tool. Use ExifTool or third-party apps like ImageOptim or Permute.

Editing EXIF (Preserving Some Fields)

Adobe Lightroom offers granular control:

Select photos
Go to Metadata panel
Edit fields directly
Choose which fields to include on export

GIMP can edit basic EXIF:

Open image
Go to Image → Metadata → Edit Metadata
Modify fields
Export (choose “Save EXIF data” or not)

Online tools like our EXIF Remover let you selectively delete fields before downloading the cleaned image.

EXIF vs Other Metadata Standards

Digital images can contain multiple types of metadata beyond EXIF. Understanding the differences helps you manage information comprehensively.

Metadata Standard Comparison

Standard	Created By	Purpose	Common Fields
EXIF	JEITA (Japan)	Camera technical data	Camera model, settings, GPS, timestamp
IPTC	International Press Telecommunications Council	Editorial/journalistic	Caption, headline, keywords, creator, copyright, location name
XMP	Adobe Systems	Extensible metadata platform	Combines EXIF/IPTC, adds rating, labels, editing history
TIFF Tags	Adobe/Aldus	Image structure	Dimensions, color space, compression, DPI
ICC Profile	International Color Consortium	Color management	Color space definition, display calibration

How They Coexist

A single image file can contain all these metadata types simultaneously. They serve different purposes:

Photographer’s workflow:

Camera writes EXIF (technical data)
Photographer adds IPTC keywords and captions
Lightroom stores edits in XMP sidecar file
ICC profile ensures color accuracy across devices

EXIF Structure

EXIF data lives in the APP1 marker segment of JPEG files, immediately after the SOI (Start of Image) marker. The structure follows TIFF 6.0 specification.

File layout:

JPEG SOI marker (FF D8)
APP1 marker (FF E1)
APP1 length (2 bytes)
"Exif\0\0" identifier (6 bytes)
TIFF header (8 bytes)
    - Byte order (II for Intel, MM for Motorola)
    - Magic number (42 decimal)
    - IFD0 offset
IFD0 (Image File Directory 0)
    - Main image tags
    - Pointer to EXIF IFD
    - Pointer to GPS IFD
EXIF IFD (EXIF-specific tags)
GPS IFD (location tags)
Interoperability IFD
IFD1 (thumbnail image)
Thumbnail image data
[Rest of JPEG data]

IFD (Image File Directory) Structure

Each IFD contains a series of 12-byte tag entries:

Bytes 0-1:   Tag ID (identifies field type)
Bytes 2-3:   Data type (SHORT, LONG, RATIONAL, ASCII, etc.)
Bytes 4-7:   Number of values
Bytes 8-11:  Value or offset to value

Example tag entry for ISO speed:

Tag ID:      0x8827 (PhotographicSensitivity)
Data type:   0x0003 (SHORT - 16-bit integer)
Count:       0x0001 (1 value)
Value:       0x0320 (800 ISO)

Byte Order Matters

EXIF uses either Intel (little-endian) or Motorola (big-endian) byte order. The first two bytes of the TIFF header specify which:

“II” (0x4949) = Intel format (least significant byte first)
“MM” (0x4D4D) = Motorola format (most significant byte first)

Example: The number 1000 (0x03E8) is stored as:

Intel: E8 03
Motorola: 03 E8

Software must detect byte order before parsing tags.

Tag ID Reference (Common Tags)

Tag ID (Hex)	Field Name	Data Type	Description
0x010F	Make	ASCII	Camera manufacturer
0x0110	Model	ASCII	Camera model
0x0112	Orientation	SHORT	Image rotation (1-8)
0x011A	XResolution	RATIONAL	Horizontal DPI
0x0132	DateTime	ASCII	Modification timestamp
0x829A	ExposureTime	RATIONAL	Shutter speed (fraction)
0x829D	FNumber	RATIONAL	Aperture f-number
0x8827	ISO	SHORT	ISO speed rating
0x9003	DateTimeOriginal	ASCII	Capture timestamp
0x920A	FocalLength	RATIONAL	Lens focal length (mm)
0xA002	PixelXDimension	LONG	Image width
0xA003	PixelYDimension	LONG	Image height

GPS tags use a separate numbering scheme (GPS IFD):

GPS Tag ID	Field Name	Description
0x0001	GPSLatitudeRef	N or S
0x0002	GPSLatitude	Degrees, minutes, seconds
0x0003	GPSLongitudeRef	E or W
0x0004	GPSLongitude	Degrees, minutes, seconds
0x0006	GPSAltitude	Meters above sea level

Frequently Asked Questions

What file types support EXIF data?

JPEG, TIFF, and RAW camera formats (CR2, NEF, ARW, etc.) fully support EXIF. PNG has limited support through text chunks. HEIF/HEIC (iPhone’s modern format) supports EXIF. WebP can store EXIF but many tools don’t write it. GIF doesn’t support EXIF - converting JPEG to GIF strips all metadata.

Can EXIF data be faked or manipulated?

Yes. EXIF fields are editable with ExifTool or photo editing software. You can change timestamps, GPS coordinates, camera models, or any other field. This means EXIF can’t be trusted as legal evidence without additional verification. Forensic analysis can sometimes detect manipulation by examining file structure inconsistencies or timestamp contradictions.

Why does my photo show the wrong date or time?

Your camera’s internal clock was set incorrectly when you took the photo. Cameras don’t sync time automatically - you must set date/time manually in camera settings. If you travel across time zones, the camera won’t adjust unless you change it. Smartphones sync with network time, so they are usually accurate.

Does taking a screenshot of a photo remove EXIF data?

Yes. Screenshots create entirely new image files. The screenshot contains EXIF data about when you took the screenshot and what device you used, but all metadata from the original photo is lost. This is a quick way to strip EXIF, but image quality suffers from re-compression.

What is the maximum GPS accuracy in EXIF?

Standard GPS coordinates use degrees with up to six decimal places (e.g., 40.748817, -73.985428). This provides accuracy to approximately 4 inches (10 cm). Altitude is stored in meters and can be precise to centimeters. Smartphones with assisted GPS (A-GPS) achieve this precision regularly in open areas.

Do RAW files contain EXIF data?

Yes. RAW files contain extensive EXIF metadata, often more detailed than JPEG. Manufacturer-specific RAW formats (CR2, NEF, ARW) store proprietary tags that JPEG can’t hold. When you convert RAW to JPEG, the software can preserve or strip EXIF depending on export settings.

Can you recover deleted EXIF data?

No. Once EXIF is stripped from a file, it can’t be recovered from that file. However, if you still have the original file (before stripping), the metadata exists there. Cloud backup services like Google Photos, iCloud, or Dropbox may have preserved the original with intact EXIF. Photo editing software sometimes keeps metadata in sidecar files (.xmp) separate from the image.

Is viewing someone else’s EXIF data legal?

Yes. EXIF data isn’t encrypted or protected. If someone shares a photo with you, you have legal access to any metadata it contains. This is why privacy-conscious users strip EXIF before sharing. However, using discovered information (like GPS coordinates) for stalking or harassment is illegal regardless of how you obtained it.

Do professional photographers keep or remove EXIF?

It depends on the use case. Portfolio images often keep camera settings so viewers can learn technique. Client deliverables may have EXIF removed to prevent competitors from analyzing shooting methods. Stock photography platforms typically preserve EXIF for licensing verification. Wedding photographers usually strip GPS to protect client privacy but keep timestamps for album sequencing.

Can EXIF data prove a photo is unedited?

Not reliably. While editing software adds signatures to EXIF, skilled manipulation can occur without changing metadata. Photoshop can “Save As” with original EXIF intact. More importantly, EXIF fields themselves can be edited to hide evidence of manipulation. Digital forensics uses pixel-level analysis, not just metadata, to detect alterations.

Take Control of Your Photo Metadata

EXIF data serves essential purposes for photographers, archivists, and photo organizers. It also creates privacy vulnerabilities when location and device information leak from shared images. Understanding what metadata your photos contain puts you in control of what you reveal.

Use our Free EXIF Viewer to see exactly what metadata your photos contain. It’s completely private - your images never leave your device. Drag and drop any photo to instantly view all embedded EXIF, GPS, camera settings, and more.

For privacy protection, try our EXIF Remover to strip sensitive metadata before sharing online. Or use the EXIF Location Finder to visualize GPS coordinates on an interactive map.