Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) Viewer & Editor

Introduction:

EXIF metadata are descriptive tags embedded in many image files. They can record camera and lens details, capture time, orientation, and sometimes GPS coordinates, which is useful for organization but easy to forget when a photo is shared outside its original context.

This package treats metadata review as a separate decision from pixel export. You load one image, inspect a summary of parsed tags, optionally open a map when coordinates exist, and then export a new image with metadata stripped, kept from a curated subset, or rewritten from edited fields.

That distinction matters because the page is not a byte-for-byte EXIF copier. The summary can show Exposure, Aperture, ISO, Focal Length, and Total Tags from the source file, but the write path only preserves or rebuilds a smaller group of fields such as description, make, model, lens model, copyright, artist, timestamps, orientation, GPS, and optional serial numbers.

A realistic use case is preparing a travel photo for sharing. You might want the corrected capture time and author name to stay with the JPEG while location and device serial numbers are removed. In another case, you may want a clean PNG or WebP export where no EXIF is written at all.

Metadata should not be overread. A tag can be missing, wrong, or manually changed, so it does not prove authorship or where someone was. There is also a privacy boundary: image parsing and export stay in the browser, but opening the Map tab causes the page to request map tiles for the stored coordinates.

Everyday Use & Decision Guide:

The safest first pass depends on your goal. If privacy is the priority, review Metadata Summary, leave Metadata on Strip, and export a clean copy without relying on later cleanup. If you need edited EXIF in the result, keep Export format on JPEG, switch Metadata to Edit, and change only the rows you actually want preserved.

• Use Keep only when a curated subset is enough. It is closer to a controlled carry-forward than a full metadata clone.
• Turn on Scrub GPS when coordinates should not travel with the export. Turn on Scrub serial numbers when device identifiers are the concern.
• Leave Auto-rotate enabled for a normal share copy. Add Normalize Orientation if you want the exported JPEG metadata to say the pixels are already upright.
• Treat Total Tags as an input inspection count, not an output guarantee. The exported file can contain fewer tags even when the page found many in the source.
• If the coordinates are sensitive, decide whether you need the Map tab before opening it. The metadata can be reviewed without requesting map tiles.

One common surprise is that Keep and Edit are available only when the resolved export format is JPEG. PNG and WebP exports still work, but they come out without EXIF in this package. Another is assuming that visible camera fields in the summary will automatically survive export. They do not unless the write path includes them.

Technical Details:

The parser reads image metadata and converts it into display values that are easier to scan. Exposure time becomes either whole seconds or a reciprocal such as 1/125 s. Aperture shows as an f-number, focal length as millimetres, and GPS coordinates as decimal degrees in the table, even though EXIF stores location with hemisphere references and rational degree-minute-second components.

Export starts from the pixels, not from a raw metadata block copy. The page decodes the image, optionally applies the orientation tag during rasterization, draws the pixels to a new canvas, and then decides whether EXIF should be written back. When the resolved export format is JPEG and Metadata is Keep or Edit, the package builds a new EXIF object and inserts it into the JPEG. Otherwise it falls back to a plain canvas export with no metadata payload.

That write path is deliberately narrower than the read path. Keep rebuilds a curated subset from parsed values. Edit rebuilds the same subset from the editable fields, adds DateTimeDigitized when requested, resets Orientation to 1 when Normalize Orientation is enabled, and can omit GPS or serial numbers. Values outside the GPS range are clamped before writing, and GPS rounding (decimals) limits latitude and longitude to 0 through 6 decimal places before conversion to EXIF rationals.

Two comparison limits matter. First, the exported image dimensions usually match the original because the page is rewriting metadata and re-encoding pixels rather than resizing. Second, the table can show fields such as Exposure, Aperture, ISO, and Focal Length, but those are inspection outputs from the source file, not guaranteed members of the rewritten metadata block.

Transformation Core:

The GPS path shows the transformation most clearly. The page reads decimal latitude and longitude for display, but when it writes JPEG metadata it converts them back into degree-minute-second components plus hemisphere references.

The package does not include a tool-specific upload step for image parsing or export. The main network-sensitive behavior is the map preview: when you open Map and parsed GPS coordinates exist, the page requests map tiles centered on that location.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Use this path when you want to inspect the source metadata first and then make a deliberate export choice.

1. Drop a file into Image or browse for it with the picker. A successful load should populate Metadata Summary and the filename badge. If you see Unsupported file type. Please choose an image. or Could not load image., retry with a real image file.
2. Review Metadata Summary before editing anything. If coordinates are sensitive, decide whether you need the Map tab before opening it.
3. Set Export format. If you need metadata in the result, choose JPEG or keep Auto only when the source file is already JPEG. If Keep and Edit are disabled, the resolved export format is not JPEG.
4. Choose Metadata mode. For Edit, use the row edit buttons in Metadata Summary to change fields such as Date Taken, Artist, Description, or GPS values. Use Scrub GPS, GPS rounding (decimals), Write DateTimeDigitized, and Scrub serial numbers only when those details should change.
5. Leave Auto-rotate on for a normal export. Add Normalize Orientation if you want the written JPEG metadata to declare the file upright after export.
6. Click Export and inspect the Export and JSON tabs. Download the file only after the summary, dimensions, and metadata strategy all match what you intended to keep, change, or remove.

Interpreting Results:

Read Metadata Summary as a view of the source file plus your current edit state, not as a promise about the exported EXIF block. The export path is narrower than the inspection path.

• Total Tags counts parsed source keys. It does not tell you how many tags will survive export.
• If Export format resolves to PNG or WebP, the safe interpretation is simple: you are exporting pixels only.
• A visible map confirms usable parsed latitude and longitude. It does not confirm that the location is accurate or safe to share.
• Dimensions and File Size (KB) are output checks for the new image, not evidence that metadata was preserved the way you intended.

When trust matters, inspect the downloaded JPEG with another metadata viewer or reopen it in the page. That second check is the clearest way to confirm that the fields you kept, changed, or scrubbed match your intent.

Worked Examples:

Removing location before sharing a travel photo

A phone JPEG loads with GPS Latitude, GPS Longitude, Date Taken, and a populated Map tab. Leave Export format on JPEG, switch Metadata to Edit, turn on Scrub GPS and Scrub serial numbers, then export. The new file should keep its pixels and dimensions while omitting location and serial identifiers from the rewritten metadata.

Correcting a credit line and capture time

A DSLR JPEG shows Artist empty and Date Taken one hour off. Choose Metadata = Edit, update those two rows, and enable Write DateTimeDigitized so the exported JPEG keeps a matching digitized timestamp. This is a good path when the photo needs cleaner archival metadata, but it still should not be read as a full clone of every source tag shown in the summary.

Why metadata seems to disappear after export

You load a JPEG, switch Export format to PNG, and then wonder why Keep and Edit are unavailable. That is expected here because PNG export writes pixels only. If the metadata must stay or be edited, change Export format back to JPEG or use Auto only when it resolves to JPEG.

FAQ:

Glossary:

EXIF

Embedded image metadata for capture, device, time, and location details.

Orientation tag

A metadata flag telling viewers how the image should be displayed upright.

Curated subset

The smaller group of fields this package can rewrite into exported JPEG metadata.

Rational coordinate

The fraction-based EXIF number format used for degree, minute, and second components.

References:

• CIPA Standards, Camera & Imaging Products Association
• Exchangeable image file format for digital still cameras: Exif Version 2.32, Camera & Imaging Products Association
• Window: createImageBitmap() method, MDN Web Docs
• FTC Order Prohibits Data Broker X-Mode Social and Outlogic from Selling Sensitive Location Data, Federal Trade Commission