Remove metadata before you share

Yes, completely free. No sign-up or paid tiers. Individual files can be up to 25 MB; the batch tool accepts up to 20 files and 100 MB total per batch.

No. JPEG, PNG and WebP are cleaned at the container level without re-encoding, so decoded pixels stay identical. PDF page content, comments and other attachments remain; saving may invalidate digital signatures. DOCX visible text is preserved, comments are removed and tracked changes are accepted. Review the copy before sharing. C2PA attachments are removed.

Yes. BeforeShare is useful for cleaning documents before sharing with clients, regulators, or publishing online.

It depends. For images with large EXIF blocks (common with smartphones), file size may decrease noticeably. For PDFs and DOCX files, the difference is usually minimal since metadata is a small portion of the total file.

Metadata that BeforeShare removes is no longer in the cleaned copy’s metadata containers, so it cannot normally be read back from that file. The original file keeps its metadata, and copies you already shared or backed up do not change. Cleaning also does not remove visible information or data types BeforeShare does not support, so keep the original private and share the clean copy.

Yes. You are free to remove metadata from files you own or have rights to modify. Removing metadata is a standard privacy practice. However, for copyrighted works, removing copyright notices may have legal implications in some jurisdictions.

Yes. EXIF data often contains an embedded thumbnail of the original image. Our tool removes this along with all other EXIF fields, ensuring no hidden previews remain — even if you cropped sensitive content from the main image.

Yes. A photo can contain GPS coordinates precise enough to identify a sensitive place, although accuracy varies by device, signal, and capture conditions. Repeated photos may expose home, work, or travel patterns, so inspect or remove location metadata before sharing.

Taking a screenshot creates a new image, so the original EXIF data is usually not carried over. The new screenshot may still contain its own metadata. BeforeShare removes the supported metadata containers from the copy it creates.

Some platforms often strip EXIF data when you post or send an image, but behavior changes by app version, file type, and how the file is shared. Sending a compressed image may remove some metadata, while sending the same file as a document or attachment may preserve it. The safest approach is to remove metadata yourself before sharing.

Use our free View Metadata tool to review the supported embedded fields it detects, including GPS coordinates. Our privacy assessment automatically highlights sensitive fields like location data.

C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) is a standard for recording content provenance. BeforeShare detects supported C2PA container evidence in JPG, PNG, WebP, and the standard DOCX package location, then removes those supported containers during cleaning. It does not validate signatures or parse every manifest assertion.

Open BeforeShare in a modern mobile browser — no app needed. Choose a supported photo and create a local copy without the metadata containers BeforeShare supports.

BeforeShare is a simpler browser-based option for common metadata inspection and cleanup tasks. ExifTool supports many more formats and advanced metadata operations; BeforeShare focuses on JPG, PNG, WebP, PDF, and DOCX files with no command line or installation.

Currently, BeforeShare focuses on images (JPG, PNG, WebP), PDFs, and Word documents. For video files, you can use ffmpeg to remove metadata with the command: ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -map_metadata -1 -c copy output.mp4

Windows has a built-in option: right-click a file → Properties → Details → 'Remove Properties and Personal Information.' However, this only works for some file types and doesn't remove all metadata. BeforeShare provides deeper metadata removal for images, PDFs, and Word docs — and works on Mac, Windows, Linux, and mobile browsers.

GDPR does not specifically require metadata removal, but metadata can contain personal data such as author names or GPS coordinates. Local metadata cleanup can support a broader data-minimization process, but using BeforeShare alone does not establish GDPR compliance.

Google Photos behavior can vary by sharing method, export path, file type, and app version. Do not treat a shared link or download as a metadata-cleaning guarantee. Inspect the recipient-facing file, or clean a copy before upload, when embedded EXIF or GPS matters.

For image, PDF, and document metadata removal — yes! BeforeShare provides a visual, browser-based alternative to ffmpeg's metadata stripping commands. No installation, no terminal, no learning command syntax. Just drag, drop, and download a clean file. For video files, ffmpeg remains the best option until we add video support.