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- Remove Metapho from the recommendations due to it requiring a subscription or one-time purchase (see its detailed description on the App Store), Relevant discussion: https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-metapho-ios-exif-editor-not-free-doesnt-meet-criteria/22821 - Replace the former with an entry on metadata removal using a pre-configured iOS shortcut With the addition of Shortcuts (available on iOS and macOS), remove the platform-specific headers Signed-off-by: fria <138676274+friadev@users.noreply.github.com> Signed-off-by: Daniel Gray <dngray@privacyguides.org>
139 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
139 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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meta_title: "Remove PII with Metadata Scrubbers and Data Redaction Tools - Privacy Guides"
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title: "Data and Metadata Redaction"
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icon: material/tag-remove
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description: Use these tools to remove metadata like GPS location and other identifying information from photos and files you share.
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cover: data-redaction.webp
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---
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<small>Protects against the following threat(s):</small>
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- [:material-account-search: Public Exposure](basics/common-threats.md#limiting-public-information){ .pg-green }
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When sharing files, be sure to remove associated metadata. Image files commonly include [Exif](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exif) data. Photos sometimes even include GPS coordinates in the file metadata.
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<div class="admonition warning" markdown>
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<p class="admonition-title">Warning</p>
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You should **never** use blur to redact [text in images](https://bishopfox.com/blog/unredacter-tool-never-pixelation). If you want to redact text in an image, you should draw a box over the text.
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</div>
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## MAT2
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<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>
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{ align=right }
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**MAT2** is free, cross-platform software which allows you to remove metadata from image, audio, torrent, and document file types. It provides both a command line tool and a graphical user interface via an extension for [Dolphin](https://0xacab.org/jvoisin/mat2/-/tree/master/dolphin), the default file manager of [KDE](https://kde.org).
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On Linux, you can use [Metadata Cleaner](https://gitlab.com/rmnvgr/metadata-cleaner), a third-party graphical tool powered by MAT2 that's [available on Flathub](https://flathub.org/apps/details/fr.romainvigier.MetadataCleaner).
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[:octicons-repo-16: Repository](https://0xacab.org/jvoisin/mat2){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
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[:octicons-info-16:](https://0xacab.org/jvoisin/mat2/-/blob/master/README.md){ .card-link title="Documentation" }
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[:octicons-code-16:](https://0xacab.org/jvoisin/mat2){ .card-link title="Source Code" }
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<details class="downloads" markdown>
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<summary>Downloads</summary>
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- [:fontawesome-brands-windows: Windows](https://pypi.org/project/mat2)
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- [:simple-apple: macOS](https://0xacab.org/jvoisin/mat2#requirements-setup-on-macos-os-x-using-homebrew)
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- [:simple-linux: Linux](https://pypi.org/project/mat2)
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- [:octicons-globe-16: Web](https://0xacab.org/jvoisin/mat2#web-interface)
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</details>
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</div>
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## ExifEraser (Android)
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<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>
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{ align=right }
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**ExifEraser** is a modern, permissionless image metadata erasing application for Android.
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It currently supports JPEG, PNG and WebP files.
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[:octicons-repo-16: Repository](https://github.com/Tommy-Geenexus/exif-eraser){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
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[:octicons-info-16:](https://github.com/Tommy-Geenexus/exif-eraser#readme){ .card-link title="Documentation" }
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[:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/Tommy-Geenexus/exif-eraser){ .card-link title="Source Code" }
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<details class="downloads" markdown>
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<summary>Downloads</summary>
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- [:simple-googleplay: Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.none.tom.exiferaser)
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- [:octicons-moon-16: Accrescent](https://accrescent.app/app/com.none.tom.exiferaser)
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- [:simple-github: GitHub](https://github.com/Tommy-Geenexus/exif-eraser/releases)
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</details>
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</div>
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The metadata that is erased depends on the image's file type:
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- **JPEG**: ICC Profile, Exif, Photoshop Image Resources and XMP/ExtendedXMP metadata will be erased if it exists.
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- **PNG**: ICC Profile, Exif and XMP metadata will be erased if it exists.
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- **WebP**: ICC Profile, Exif and XMP metadata will be erased if it exists.
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After processing the images, ExifEraser provides you with a full report about what exactly was removed from each image.
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The app offers multiple ways to erase metadata from images. Namely:
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- You can share an image from another application with ExifEraser.
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- Through the app itself, you can select a single image, multiple images at once, or even an entire directory.
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- It features a "Camera" option, which uses your operating system's camera app to take a photo, and then it removes the metadata from it.
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- It allows you to drag photos from another app into ExifEraser when they are both open in split-screen mode.
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- Lastly, it allows you to paste an image from your clipboard.
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## Shortcuts (iOS & macOS)
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On iOS and macOS, you can remove image metadata without using any third-party apps by creating a [**shortcut**](https://apps.apple.com/app/id915249334) for this purpose. Here is an example shortcut you can download to use as is:
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[:material-tag-minus: Clean Image Metadata](https://icloud.com/shortcuts/fb774ddb7b5b4296871776c67ac0fff9){ .md-button }
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You can also use it as a model for your own shortcut; just make sure that the **Preserve Metadata** option under the **Convert** action is unchecked. Once added, you can access the shortcut in the share sheet that appears when you select the :octicons-share-24: Share button. You can select multiple images and invoke the shortcut to remove their metadata all at once.
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This shortcut removes metadata such as location, device model, lens model, and other camera information. It also sets the image creation date to the time the shortcut was used.
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## ExifTool (CLI)
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<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>
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{ align=right }
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**ExifTool** is the original Perl library and command-line application for reading, writing, and editing meta information (Exif, IPTC, XMP, and more) in a wide variety of file formats (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, PDF, RAW, and more).
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It is often a component of other Exif removal applications and in most Linux distribution repositories.
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[:octicons-home-16: Homepage](https://exiftool.org){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
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[:octicons-info-16:](https://exiftool.org/faq.html){ .card-link title="Documentation" }
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[:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/exiftool/exiftool){ .card-link title="Source Code" }
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[:octicons-heart-16:](https://exiftool.org/#donate){ .card-link title="Contribute" }
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<details class="downloads" markdown>
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<summary>Downloads</summary>
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- [:fontawesome-brands-windows: Windows](https://exiftool.org)
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- [:simple-apple: macOS](https://exiftool.org)
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- [:simple-linux: Linux](https://exiftool.org)
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</details>
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</div>
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<div class="admonition example" markdown>
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<p class="admonition-title">Deleting data from a directory of files</p>
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```bash
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exiftool -all= *.file_extension
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```
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</div>
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## Criteria
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**Please note we are not affiliated with any of the projects we recommend.** In addition to [our standard criteria](about/criteria.md), we have developed a clear set of requirements to allow us to provide objective recommendations. We suggest you familiarize yourself with this list before choosing to use a project, and conduct your own research to ensure it's the right choice for you.
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- Apps developed for open-source operating systems must be open source.
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- Apps must be free and should not include ads or other limitations.
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