Reproducible lab · Photo privacy
EXIF Privacy Lab: What a Photo Can Reveal
A JPEG can carry location, device, software, and capture-time data that is not visible in its pixels. This lab lets you inspect a harmless controlled file, remove its EXIF locally, and compare the result without using anyone's real photo or personal data.
What the sample contains
The archive contains the same JPEG pixels twice. The “before” file was given clearly synthetic EXIF values: a fictional camera, a date in 2000, and latitude/longitude 0,0. The “after” file was produced with the same empty-EXIF operation used by this site's remover. Neither file contains a person's filename, location, device ID, or other real-world personal data.
Observed before and after
On July 23, 2026, both files were parsed with the project's EXIF parser. The controlled fields below were present in the source and absent from the cleaned copy.
| Field | Synthetic before | After removal |
|---|---|---|
| Camera make | EXIFDataView Lab | Not present |
| Camera model | Synthetic Camera | Not present |
| Software | EXIFDataView controlled sample | Not present |
| Capture time | 2000-01-01 12:00:00 (EXIF local time) | Not present |
| GPS latitude | 0° N (synthetic Null Island coordinate) | Not present |
| GPS longitude | 0° E (synthetic Null Island coordinate) | Not present |
This test checks a narrow, reproducible question: whether the site's current JPEG cleanup operation removes the controlled EXIF fields in this sample.
Sample
Two JPEGs in samples.zip: synthetic-before.jpg and synthetic-after.jpg. SHA-256: before 04c1d69f…02cdfe; after 74eb7ff1…2680b8.
Environment
EXIFDataView source as tested on July 23, 2026; piexifjs writes and clears EXIF, and exifr 7.1.3 performs the verification parse.
Steps
- 1. Extract the archive and upload synthetic-before.jpg to the EXIF viewer.
- 2. Confirm the fictional camera, 2000 capture time, and 0,0 GPS fields.
- 3. Upload the before file to Remove EXIF and download the result.
- 4. Inspect that result again and compare it with synthetic-after.jpg.
Limitations
- The result covers this JPEG and this implementation, not every image format or editor.
- Removing EXIF does not blur faces, signs, landmarks, reflections, or other visible clues.
- A service may keep a separate database location even when the downloaded file has no EXIF GPS.
Which fields deserve review?
GPS coordinates can identify a precise place. Capture time can show when a person was there. Camera make, model, software, artist, and copyright fields can connect files across accounts or reveal a workflow. Normal exposure settings such as aperture and ISO are usually less sensitive, but context matters.
Keep an original if the metadata matters for your archive or authorship workflow. Share a cleaned copy, then inspect the exact file you plan to send. Use the destination app's location controls as a second safeguard, not as proof that the file itself is clean.
Try the complete workflow
- Inspect the controlled source and note which fields the viewer groups as GPS, camera, and time.
- Remove the EXIF locally from a copy in your browser.
- Edit selected EXIF fields only when preserving intentional metadata is the better choice.
The downloadable files, field table, and limitations were checked together. Report a reproducible mismatch through the corrections workflow.
Huy
Editor, EXIFDataView
- Published
- Jul 23, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 23, 2026
- Last tested
- Jul 23, 2026
Corrections and reproducible issues belong in the contact workflow. We update visible dates only when the page content or testing notes materially change.
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