10 best free EXIF viewers and metadata editors (2026)

Quick answer: the best tool for each job

What EXIF data can reveal about a photo

EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is information your camera or phone saves inside the image file. Editing apps and websites often add more as XMP and IPTC metadata. Together they can include:

• Location – GPS latitude, longitude and altitude, often accurate to a few metres
• Device – camera or phone make and model, lens, and sometimes the serial number
• Date and time – when the photo was taken and when it was last edited
• Settings – ISO, aperture, shutter speed, focal length, flash
• Software – the apps used to edit or export the image
• Ownership and SEO – title, description, keywords, author and copyright

That is useful for photographers and website owners, but it is also a privacy risk: a photo taken at home can reveal your address to anyone who downloads the original file.

How we chose these tools

We looked at free tools people actually use and compared what they can read, whether they can edit or remove metadata, which formats they handle (including newer WebP, AVIF and iPhone HEIC files), how easy they are for non-technical users, and where your file goes when you use them.

Disclosure: Exif Data Tool is our own product. We have listed it first because it covers the most common jobs in one place, but we have been upfront about its limits too – and for some tasks another tool on this list is the better choice.

1. Exif Data Tool – view, edit and remove in one place

Platform: Web (any browser, phone or desktop) · Price: free daily allowance, optional Premium

Exif Data Tool shows every EXIF, GPS and XMP field in a photo, then lets you change it or remove it – without leaving the page. It writes metadata directly into JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC and PSD files without re-compressing them, so image quality stays exactly the same and Photoshop layers are kept.

It is also built for image SEO: alongside the 17 standard fields (title, description, copyright, artist, dates, camera, GPS, Windows keywords) you can set an SEO file name, alt text and caption, convert to WebP or AVIF, and copy ready-made <img srcset> HTML for your website.

Best for: anyone who wants to check, fix or clean a photo quickly – and website owners preparing images for SEO. View EXIF · Edit EXIF · Remove EXIF

2. Jeffrey’s Image Metadata Viewer

Platform: Web · Price: free · exif.regex.info

A long-running favourite among photographers. Paste an image URL or upload a file and it produces a very detailed report, powered by the ExifTool library, including a map for GPS coordinates. Being able to check an image by URL is handy when you don’t have the file.

Best for: photographers and investigators who want every last detail.

3. ExifTool

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux (command line) · Price: free and open source · exiftool.org

ExifTool by Phil Harvey is the reference tool for metadata – many other apps, including several on this list, use it behind the scenes. It reads and writes EXIF, IPTC and XMP in almost every image format and can process thousands of files with one command.

A few useful commands:

By default ExifTool keeps a backup of each file with _original added to the name.

Best for: developers, archivists and anyone handling large batches.

4. ExifToolGui (Windows)

Platform: Windows · Price: free and open source · GitHub

ExifToolGui puts a point-and-click interface on top of ExifTool. You browse folders, select files and view or edit their metadata, with a map for location data – most of ExifTool’s power without typing commands.

Best for: Windows users who want batch editing without the command line.

5. Metadata2Go

Platform: Web · Price: free to view, paid plans available · metadata2go.com

Metadata2Go goes beyond photos: it reads metadata from PDFs, Word and Excel files, video, audio and ebooks. Viewing is free without an account, there are separate apps for editing and removing metadata, and you can save the report as a PDF. The free upload limit is 75 MB per file.

Best for: checking metadata of non-image files.

6. digiKam

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux · Price: free and open source · digikam.org

digiKam is a full photo-management application with a built-in metadata editor for EXIF, IPTC and XMP, plus a geolocation editor for placing photos on a map. Because it manages your whole library, it is ideal for tagging and captioning hundreds of photos.

Best for: photographers organising and tagging big collections.

7. Adobe Bridge

Platform: Windows, macOS · Price: free with an Adobe account · adobe.com

Adobe Bridge is Adobe’s free file browser. Its Metadata panel and File Info dialog show and edit IPTC and XMP fields, and metadata templates let you apply your name, copyright and contact details to many files at once – a common workflow for professional photographers.

Best for: adding copyright and captions to large batches.

8. Windows File Explorer (built in)

Right-click a photo → Properties → Details. You will see the camera, date, dimensions and GPS coordinates, and for JPG files you can type a Title, Subject, Tags, Comments, Authors and Copyright. Select several files to edit them together. The Remove Properties and Personal Information link at the bottom can strip data from a copy of the file.

Best for: quick checks and simple edits on Windows. Support for WebP, AVIF and HEIC metadata is limited.

9. macOS Preview and Photos (built in)

In Preview, open the image and choose Tools → Show Inspector, then the (i) tab: the EXIF and GPS sections show camera settings and location. In the Photos app you can change the date, time and location of a picture from the Image menu.

Best for: Mac users who just want to look. Editing is limited to date, time and location.

10. iPhone Photos and Google Photos (built in)

iPhone: open a photo in Photos and tap the (i) button (or swipe up). You will see the camera, lens, settings and a map of where it was taken, and you can tap Adjust to change the date, time or location. When sharing, tap Options and turn off Location to send the photo without GPS.

Android: in Google Photos, open a photo and swipe up to see its details, including the device and location. You can edit the date, time and location there too.

Best for: checking a photo on your phone. Phone apps show basic EXIF only – not keywords, copyright or other XMP/IPTC fields. For those, use an online tool such as our HEIC viewer.

Side-by-side comparison

“–” means we could not confirm it for the free version. Features change over time, so check each tool’s own site before relying on one.

Online tool or desktop software?

Choose an online tool when you need to check or fix a few photos quickly, you are on a phone or a shared computer, or you want to work with newer formats without installing anything. Read the tool’s privacy note: some process files in your browser, while others – including Exif Data Tool – upload the file to a server and delete it afterwards.

Choose desktop software when you work with hundreds of files, need to work offline, or have photos you would rather not upload anywhere. ExifTool, digiKam and Adobe Bridge are all free and keep everything on your computer.

Why a photo shows no EXIF data

• It was shared through social media or a messaging app. WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook usually strip most metadata when they compress a photo.
• It is a screenshot or an image downloaded from a website.
• It was exported or optimised by software set to remove metadata – many image compressors do this.
• The camera didn’t record it. GPS is only saved when location access was on for the camera app.

If you need the details, ask for the original file – sent as a document, by email or as a cloud link.

Privacy checklist before you share a photo

1. Open the photo in an EXIF viewer and look for GPS coordinates.
2. If it shows a private location, remove the GPS data – or remove all metadata if you don’t need any of it.
3. Check the cleaned file again to confirm the location is gone.
4. Turn off location tagging in your camera app if you rarely need it.