Windows · macOS · ExifTool

How to Remove Metadata From Photos on Windows and Mac

3 min read

Windows and macOS both ship with a way to strip some metadata from photos, but each covers only part of the job: Windows focuses on EXIF properties, macOS on location.

Here are the exact built-in steps, the free command-line method professionals use, and a browser method that works the same on both systems and also removes C2PA, XMP and AI prompts.

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Know what you are removing

A photo can carry several kinds of metadata at once: EXIF (camera, time, GPS), XMP (editing history, descriptions, AI fields), IPTC (captions, rights, DigitalSourceType), C2PA Content Credentials and, in PNG files, text chunks holding AI prompts. Built-in operating-system tools were designed around EXIF, so they tend to leave the other types in place. Keep that in mind when choosing a method.

Windows 11 and 10: File Explorer

File Explorer has a built-in remover for common properties:

  • Select one or more photos, right-click and choose Properties.
  • Open the Details tab and click “Remove Properties and Personal Information” at the bottom.
  • Choose “Create a copy with all possible properties removed” for a clean duplicate, or “Remove the following properties from this file” to tick individual fields.
  • Click OK, then open the copy’s Details tab to confirm the GPS and camera fields are empty.

Where the Windows method falls short

The option works best with JPEG and TIFF. For PNG, WebP, HEIC and AVIF it may show little or nothing to remove. It can also leave XMP packets, C2PA manifests and embedded thumbnails behind, and it gives no report of what remained. The Photos app does not offer a metadata-stripping export.

macOS: Preview and Photos

On a Mac the built-in options are aimed at location:

  • Preview: open the photo, choose Tools › Show Inspector, open the location (GPS) tab and click “Remove Location Info”, then save.
  • Photos: select images and choose Image › Location › Hide Location, or use File › Export and leave location information unticked so the exported copy has no GPS.
  • Finder’s Get Info and Preview’s Inspector are useful for checking the result, but both show only a subset of fields.

Where the Mac method falls short

Removing location leaves the device model, capture time, software and edit history in place. Exporting from Preview or Photos to JPEG re-encodes the image, which costs a little quality each time, and HEIC files may be converted unless you choose otherwise.

Command line on both: ExifTool

ExifTool is a free, long-standing metadata tool for Windows, macOS and Linux. It edits files without re-encoding them. Useful commands:

  • exiftool -all= photo.jpg — removes all writable metadata and keeps a backup named photo.jpg_original.
  • exiftool -all= --icc_profile:all -tagsfromfile @ -orientation photo.jpg — removes everything except the color profile and orientation, so colors and rotation stay correct.
  • exiftool -all= -r "C:\Photos\Share" — cleans a whole folder, including subfolders.

Browser method: same steps on any computer

If you cannot install software — on a work laptop, for example — or you want one method for every format, open AI Label Remover in Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. Drop up to 50 images, read the report, press “Wash all images” and save the files or a ZIP. It removes EXIF, GPS, XMP, IPTC, C2PA and PNG prompt chunks from JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, HEIC and AVIF while keeping orientation and color profile, and it runs entirely on your machine.

Which method to choose

  • One JPEG, just the basics: File Explorer on Windows, Preview on Mac.
  • Location only, straight from your library: Photos on Mac.
  • Scripts, servers or thousands of files: ExifTool.
  • Mixed formats, AI metadata or no install allowed: a local browser tool such as AI Label Remover.

About removing metadata on a computer

Does “Remove Properties and Personal Information” delete GPS?

Yes, for JPEG files it removes GPS along with other EXIF properties. Check the Details tab of the result, because some XMP data can remain.

Can I remove metadata from HEIC photos on Windows?

File Explorer has limited HEIC support. ExifTool or a browser tool that handles HEIC, such as AI Label Remover, removes it without converting the file.

Does exporting from Preview remove all metadata?

Not reliably. Export can drop some fields but keep others, and it re-compresses JPEGs. Check the exported file before sharing.

Which method keeps the image quality?

File Explorer, ExifTool and AI Label Remover edit metadata without re-encoding. Exporting a new JPEG from an editor or viewer re-compresses the picture.

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