Inspect First. Share Safer
Every Time.

Yes, completely free. No sign-up, no limits, no paid tiers. We believe privacy tools should be accessible to everyone.

Never. All processing happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your files never leave your device — we can't see them even if we wanted to.

We remove EXIF data (GPS, camera info, timestamps), IPTC/XMP fields, PDF info dictionaries (author, creator, dates), and DOCX properties (author, company, revision history, editing time).

For JPEG images, we re-encode at 95% quality to strip metadata — the visual difference is imperceptible. PNG files remain lossless. PDF and DOCX content is fully preserved.

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

We currently support JPEG, PNG, WebP, PDF, and DOCX files.

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.

No. Once metadata is properly stripped, it is permanently removed from that copy of the file. However, if the original file still exists on your device or cloud backup, its metadata remains intact. Always clean files before sharing.

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. GPS coordinates in photos can be accurate to within 3 meters. By analyzing GPS data from multiple photos, someone could determine your home address, workplace, daily routine, and frequented locations. Removing metadata before sharing is essential.

Taking a screenshot creates a new image with fresh metadata from your device — so the original EXIF data is lost. However, the screenshot still contains new metadata (your device model, timestamp, etc.). Our tool removes all metadata completely.

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 instantly see all embedded data, including GPS coordinates. Our privacy assessment automatically highlights sensitive fields like location data.

C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) is a standard that embeds cryptographic metadata into images to verify whether content is human-made or AI-generated. Major platforms and AI tools now embed C2PA data. Our tool can strip these markers.

Simply open BeforeShare in your mobile browser — no app needed. Our tool works on all devices. Upload your photo, and we'll strip all metadata instantly in your browser.

Yes! BeforeShare is a free online exiftool alternative that works directly in your browser — no command line, no installation needed. While exiftool is a powerful CLI tool for advanced users, BeforeShare offers the same core functionality (view and remove EXIF data) with a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface. Perfect for anyone who wants to remove EXIF data without learning terminal commands.

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.

While GDPR doesn't explicitly mandate metadata removal, it does require organizations to protect personal data — and metadata often contains personal data (author names, GPS coordinates, timestamps). Many organizations strip metadata as part of their GDPR data minimization practices. BeforeShare helps you comply by processing files entirely in your browser with zero data collection.

Google Photos preserves most metadata by default, including GPS location data. When sharing via link, all EXIF data remains intact. Even downloading images from Google Photos retains the embedded metadata. If privacy is a concern, always strip metadata before uploading to Google Photos or any cloud service.

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.