PixWash

FAQ

Is my photo uploaded to a server?

No. PixWash runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript — the file is read locally, analyzed locally, and the clean copy is generated locally. Nothing you drop here ever leaves your device. Uploading a photo to a website in order to remove private data from it has always seemed backwards to us.

Does removing metadata reduce image quality?

No. PixWash removes metadata at the byte level — it deletes the EXIF/XMP/IPTC blocks and copies the compressed image data through untouched. The pixels in the clean copy are bit-for-bit identical to the original. (The one exception: if you tick "apply rotation", the image is re-encoded so the rotation stored in metadata gets baked into the pixels.)

What exactly gets removed?

EXIF data (GPS coordinates, camera make/model, lens, serial numbers, timestamps, software), XMP packets, IPTC/Photoshop blocks, JPEG comments, PNG text/time chunks, vendor-specific segments, HEIC/AVIF EXIF and XMP items (wiped in place), TIFF/DNG personal tags including embedded-preview metadata (wiped in place), and any hidden data appended after the image ends. Color profiles (ICC) are kept by default so your photo looks the same, but you can remove them too.

Why would my photo appear rotated after cleaning?

Many cameras save the image sensor-side-up and record "rotate 90°" as an EXIF orientation tag. If PixWash detects that, it offers an "apply rotation" option that bakes the correct orientation into the pixels before stripping — otherwise some viewers would show the cleaned photo sideways.

What formats are supported?

JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC/HEIF (the format iPhones shoot in), AVIF, TIFF, DNG, PDF documents — and camera raw files: Canon CR2, Nikon NEF, Sony ARW, Olympus ORF, Panasonic RW2, Pentax PEF and Fujifilm RAF (every one verified against real camera files with a raw decoder: pixels bit-identical after cleaning, camera white balance intact). For HEIC, AVIF, TIFF, DNG and raws, PixWash finds the personal metadata inside the file and wipes it in place — the file structure and the compressed image data are left byte-for-byte untouched, so the cleaned file opens everywhere the original did (and keeps the same file size). Rewriting a TIFF-based file from scratch would mean relocating every internal offset, which is exactly the kind of operation that corrupts raw files — so PixWash deliberately doesn't. One more thing: most browsers can't display HEIC images at all, so for the preview PixWash fetches a ~1 MB WebAssembly build of libheif (served from this site, only when you drop a HEIC) and decodes it locally — the photo still never leaves your device.

What does PixWash wipe in a TIFF or DNG — and what does it keep?

Wiped: the entire GPS record, capture timestamps, camera and lens serial numbers, artist/copyright/description strings, Windows title/author/keywords tags, user comments, XMP packets, IPTC and Photoshop blocks, MakerNote vendor data, DNG private data, the original raw file name — and metadata hiding inside embedded JPEG previews, which often carry their own copy of the GPS coordinates. Kept: camera make and model, and every structural or calibration tag: raw processors key their color profiles off these, and removing them can break rendering. PixWash shows you both lists before you download. One honest caveat: in most proprietary camera raws (Canon CR2, Nikon NEF, Sony ARW, Olympus ORF, Pentax PEF, Fujifilm RAF) the vendor MakerNote is required to decode the image correctly — Nikon even encrypts its color data against the camera serial number stored there, Sony keeps the white-balance block behind it, and wiping a Pentax MakerNote corrupts the decode outright — so in those raws the MakerNote is kept and clearly flagged, because it can embed the camera serial. Panasonic RW2 is the exception: its metadata lives in an embedded JPEG whose MakerNote is not needed for raw decoding, so there it is wiped too. If you need the serial gone too, convert to DNG or JPEG first and clean that.

What about PDFs — what do they reveal?

A PDF's document-info dictionary typically carries the author's real name (often the login name of whoever installed the office suite), the exact software used, and creation/modification timestamps — plus an XMP packet repeating it all. Résumés, bids, reports and "anonymous" letters leak names this way constantly. PixWash shows every field, then wipes the values in place: the file structure, page content and layout are byte-for-byte untouched, so the cleaned PDF opens everywhere the original did. It also wipes the info dictionaries of earlier revisions kept alive by incremental saves, and removes any data hiding after the end-of-file marker. Honest limits: info stored inside a compressed object stream is reported but can't be wiped in place (re-save via print-to-PDF to drop it); earlier-revision page content is reported but stays; embedded file attachments are flagged, not removed; cleaning a digitally-signed PDF breaks the signature; and password-protected PDFs can't be read at all.

Can I clean many photos at once?

Yes. Drop (or select) any number of photos — up to 200 per batch — and you'll see a per-photo summary of what each one reveals, with GPS leaks flagged in red. One click downloads all the clean copies in a single ZIP file, still without anything being uploaded. Click any row to inspect that photo in detail.

Do screenshots or messaging apps have this data too?

Screenshots usually contain little metadata (though some tools add software tags and timestamps). Big messaging apps and most social networks strip EXIF on upload — but email attachments, cloud drives, forums, and many smaller sites do not. When in doubt, check: dropping a file here is a quick way to see exactly what it carries.

Common tasks

Guides for the usual reasons people end up here — each opens the tool with a live demo:

Remove GPS location from photos · Remove location from iPhone photos (HEIC) · Remove EXIF data from a JPEG · Remove EXIF from HEIC photos · View EXIF data online · Strip EXIF without losing image quality · Remove metadata from a PNG · Remove EXIF & XMP metadata from a WebP image · Remove metadata from an AVIF image · Remove metadata from a TIFF · Remove metadata from DNG raw files · Remove metadata from camera raw files (CR2, NEF, ARW, ORF, RW2, PEF, RAF) · Remove metadata from a PDF · Clean photos before selling online · Your camera’s serial number is in your photos

По-русски

Удалить метаданные (EXIF) из фото — по-русски · убрать геолокацию (GPS) с фото · удалить EXIF из JPEG · фото iPhone (HEIC) · посмотреть EXIF онлайн · метаданные PDF