Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) Viewer & Editor

Introduction:

EXIF metadata are the small fields that many cameras and phones store beside a photo's pixels. They often include the capture date and time, camera and lens details, orientation, software, copyright text, and sometimes GPS coordinates. Those details can help with sorting, credit, and recordkeeping, but they can also reveal more than you intended to share.

This EXIF viewer and editor separates three jobs that are easy to mix up: reading what a file already contains, changing a limited set of common tags, and exporting a new image with the metadata strategy you choose. You can inspect a readable summary, open a map when coordinates are present, copy the parsed information as CSV or JSON, export the summary as DOCX, and then create a new JPEG, PNG, or WebP copy.

The main practical limit is that the read side is broader than the write side. The summary can show values such as exposure time, aperture, ISO, focal length, orientation, GPS, and the total number of detected tags, but JPEG writing is limited to a curated set of descriptive, date, orientation, GPS, and serial-number fields. That makes the result predictable, and it keeps the export from being mistaken for a full metadata clone.

Metadata should also be read with care. EXIF standards define how tags are stored, not whether the values are correct, current, or untouched. A field may be missing, copied forward from an older edit, or changed by hand. Use it as supporting information about an image, not as proof by itself.

Image parsing and export happen in the browser. If you open the Map tab and the file contains usable coordinates, the page then requests map tiles from OpenStreetMap to draw the preview. If location privacy matters, you can review the coordinate rows in the summary first and skip the map entirely.

Technical Details:

In EXIF terms, a photo file carries ancillary tag data alongside the image itself. For this editor, the most important tags are the ones people actually act on: description, make, model, lens model, artist, software, copyright, capture time, orientation, GPS position, and selected device serial numbers. The summary converts the raw values into friendlier display forms such as reciprocal shutter speeds, f-numbers, millimetres, and decimal latitude and longitude.

Export does not patch the original file in place. The image is decoded, drawn into a fresh canvas, and encoded again in the chosen output format. That is why Auto-rotate can physically redraw the pixels upright during export, and it is also why metadata writing is limited to JPEG output. PNG and WebP exports still work here, but they leave as pixel exports without an EXIF block.

There are three metadata modes. Strip all writes no EXIF into the exported file. Keep original rebuilds a selected subset from parsed values. Apply edits rebuilds that same subset from the editable rows and advanced switches. In both write modes, the editor can preserve or change text fields, capture time, orientation, GPS, and serial-number handling. Values such as exposure time, aperture, ISO, and focal length remain view-only.

GPS data need one extra conversion step because the summary uses decimal degrees while EXIF stores coordinates as degree-minute-second fractions plus hemisphere references. Before writing, the editor clamps latitude to -90 to 90 and longitude to -180 to 180, applies optional decimal rounding, and then converts the numbers back into EXIF form.

Time handling is narrower than the full modern EXIF family. The editor writes the classic local timestamp fields for capture time, and it can optionally copy the same value into DateTimeDigitized. Newer CIPA revisions also define separate UTC-offset tags, but this editor does not write those offset fields. If timezone context matters, verify the exported file with a second metadata reader and keep the offset somewhere outside this workflow.

The result tabs complete the audit loop. Metadata Summary can be copied or downloaded as CSV and exported as DOCX, JSON captures the parsed data plus your current edits and export state, and Export lets you compare the original and rewritten image before you download it.

Everyday Use & Decision Guide:

The right export depends on what the next person needs from the file. If the image is being sent for casual viewing, most recipients do not need its capture history, location, or device identity. In that case, the safest choice is usually Strip all or a PNG or WebP export that leaves with pixels only.

• Choose Strip all when privacy is the first concern and you do not need metadata in the delivered image.
• Choose Keep original when you want a JPEG that still carries the supported descriptive fields from the source without manually editing them.
• Choose Apply edits when the export needs deliberate changes, such as a corrected timestamp, a new copyright line, rounded coordinates, or location removal while keeping the rest of the supported JPEG metadata.
• Stay on JPEG if the output must still contain EXIF. Once the resolved output is PNG or WebP, metadata writing stops in this editor.
• Use Scrub GPS when location should not travel with the image. Add Scrub serial numbers when equipment identifiers are not relevant to the recipient.

Orientation deserves a deliberate check. Auto-rotate changes the exported pixels so the image looks upright, while Normalize Orientation tag resets the written orientation flag to 1. If the source image depended on a non-default orientation value, using both settings together is the cleaner way to avoid disagreement between the pixels and the tag.

One more practical limit is easy to miss. The Copy URL button on the export tab copies a browser-generated object URL for the current session. It is useful for quick local handoff inside the same browser context, but it is not a hosted link that another person can open later.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Load an image by dragging it into the drop zone or choosing it from the file picker. A successful read fills the summary table and records the original file type, dimensions, size, and detected tag count.
2. Review Metadata Summary before deciding how much information should survive. If you only need an audit trail, use the CSV, DOCX, or JSON exports here before you change anything else.
3. If specific fields need correction, edit the supported rows directly in the table. The editable set includes description, make, model, lens model, artist, software, copyright, date taken, and GPS coordinates when they are present or added.
4. Choose the output format. Keep the result on JPEG if you need metadata writing. Choose PNG or WebP when the goal is a clean pixel export with no EXIF.
5. Set the metadata mode and the advanced switches that match your intent. Common choices are Scrub GPS for sharing, GPS rounding for less precise location storage, Write DateTimeDigitized when archive fields should match, and Scrub serial numbers when device identifiers are unnecessary.
6. Export the image, compare the original and result in the Export tab, and then download the file. For high-trust work, reopen the exported JPEG in this editor or another metadata reader to confirm that the written fields match your plan.

Interpreting Results:

Read the outputs as checkpoints, not as automatic guarantees. Tags Detected is a count of the source keys the parser found. It does not mean the same number of tags will appear in the exported file.

• Metadata Summary is the broadest view. It mixes source details with any current edit state so you can compare what the file had against what the writer is about to use.
• Map confirms that the current metadata contain usable latitude and longitude values. It does not confirm that the recorded location is correct, current, or safe to share.
• Exported Image dimensions and file size describe the new file only. They say nothing by themselves about whether metadata were kept, changed, or removed the way you expected.
• JSON is the clearest structured audit view because it includes the input settings, parsed EXIF, GPS state, edits, and export details in one place.

If a result matters beyond casual sharing, verify the downloaded file with a second pass. That is the fastest way to catch mistakes such as keeping GPS when you meant to strip it, or leaving a capture time unchanged when you expected the edited value to be written.

Worked Examples:

Prepare a share copy without location data

A phone JPEG arrives with coordinates and a clear map preview. If the goal is simple sharing, keep the image on JPEG, choose Apply edits, turn on Scrub GPS and Scrub serial numbers, then export. If no metadata need to survive at all, Strip all or a PNG export is even simpler.

Correct authorship and capture time for a catalog copy

A camera JPEG has the right pixels but an empty artist field and the wrong time. Edit the Artist and Date Taken rows, keep the output on JPEG, and enable Write DateTimeDigitized if both capture-time fields should match in the exported copy. This keeps the change focused on the tags that actually matter for archive notes and credit.

Document the source metadata before changing anything

An incoming image needs review before publication. Load the file, copy the summary table as CSV, export the same table as DOCX for a meeting pack, and save the JSON snapshot for structured reference. After that record is captured, decide whether the delivered image should keep selected metadata or leave with none.

FAQ:

Glossary:

EXIF

Embedded image metadata used to store camera, time, location, and other descriptive fields alongside a photo.

Orientation tag

A metadata value that tells viewing software how the image should be displayed upright.

GPS IFD

The EXIF area that stores location fields such as latitude, longitude, altitude, and their hemisphere references.

Object URL

A temporary browser-generated address for local file data in the current session.

References:

• CIPA DC-X008-2019, Exif Version 2.32
• CIPA Exif 3.0 Overview
• Library of Congress, Exif Exchangeable Image File Format, Version 2.2
• Federal Trade Commission, precise location data enforcement note
• OpenStreetMap Foundation, Tile Usage Policy