# EXIF

Canonical URL: https://offlineutils.com/glossary/exif
Also known as: Exchangeable Image File Format, EXIF metadata
Published: 2026-06-24
Publisher: offlineutils.com

> EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is the metadata standard cameras and phones embed inside JPEG photos — including GPS coordinates, camera model, capture timestamp, and shutter settings — which is why a holiday photo can quietly leak the exact street address it was taken at.

Every JPEG you take with a phone or modern camera carries an EXIF block — a binary chunk of tagged metadata wedged into the file's APP1 segment. The tags include capture timestamp, camera make and model, lens, ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and frequently a GPS latitude/longitude pair pinning the photo to the second the shutter clicked.

This metadata is incredibly useful for photographers and forensic analysts — and incredibly leaky for everyone else. A photo of your living room you posted publicly to ask for furniture suggestions can give a stalker your home address. Many social networks strip EXIF on upload; many file shares do not. If the privacy floor matters, strip the metadata locally before you upload anywhere.

EXIF is JPEG-specific. PNG has its own metadata layout (tEXt and iTXt chunks); WebP has its own EXIF chunk. Stripping in-browser walks the file's segment markers and removes the metadata blocks without re-encoding the image.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do social networks strip EXIF?

Most major networks (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn) strip EXIF on upload. File shares (Google Drive, Dropbox), email attachments, and direct sends in messaging apps generally do NOT. Assume EXIF is present unless you have stripped it.

### Does cropping or resizing remove EXIF?

Re-encoding through canvas.toBlob (browser-based resize/crop tools) drops every metadata segment as a byproduct. Editors that preserve metadata (Lightroom, Photos.app) typically keep EXIF unless you explicitly export-without-metadata.

### What's the most sensitive EXIF tag?

The GPSLatitude and GPSLongitude tags. Phones embed these by default with the location at the moment of capture, accurate to within meters.

## Related tools

- https://offlineutils.com/exif-stripper
- https://offlineutils.com/image-resizer
- https://offlineutils.com/image-converter

## References

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exif