EXIF Viewer

Inspect the EXIF metadata embedded in your photos — camera model, lens, exposure settings, GPS coordinates, and timestamps. Files are read locally in your browser; no file is uploaded to a server.

Drag & drop a JPG/HEIC/PNG/WebP/TIFF
or click "Choose File"

Preview

Choose an image to see its EXIF data.

Last tested June 2026. We verified this tool's core flow — selecting input, processing, preview, and download — in current Chrome, Safari, and Firefox on desktop and mobile, and checked how it handles unsupported or oversized files.

What EXIF Viewer is useful for

Photographers use it to review the settings behind a shot without opening Lightroom or the camera. Drop in a JPG and you can confirm the focal length, whether the lens was wide open at f/1.8, the shutter speed, and the ISO the camera chose in auto mode — handy when you are trying to reproduce a look or diagnose why a frame came out soft or noisy.

It is a privacy audit tool. Before you upload a photo to a forum, a marketplace listing, or a dating profile, you can check exactly what it gives away. Phones often embed GPS coordinates accurate to a few metres, plus the precise capture timestamp — enough to reveal your home address or daily routine. Seeing the data first lets you decide whether to strip it.

Editors and stock-image buyers use it to verify IPTC/XMP fields: the embedded caption, the copyright holder, and which software last touched the file (for example whether a 'photo' was actually exported from Photoshop). It is also a quick way to settle the question 'when was this really taken?' by reading the original DateTimeOriginal rather than the file's modified date, which a download or copy can overwrite.

How to use it

Open the tool, add a photo, and the metadata table fills in instantly. There is no upload step and no settings to configure — the parser reads EXIF, GPS, and IPTC/XMP in one pass and shows every tag it finds. If you want a copy of the data, use Download JSON; if you want to inspect another file, hit Reset and add the next one.

A practical example workflow

Say you photographed a watch to sell on a marketplace and the shot came from your phone. You drag the JPG onto EXIF Viewer. The table immediately shows Make 'Apple', Model 'iPhone 15 Pro', FNumber 1.78, ISO 320, ExposureTime 1/120, FocalLength 6.86 mm, and DateTimeOriginal 2026:05:28 19:14:03 — your evening at home.

Critically, you also see GPSLatitude and GPSLongitude fields. Plugged into any map, those coordinates point straight at your flat. That is exactly what you do not want a stranger to have.

You click Download JSON to keep a record of the original metadata, then head to the companion Remove Metadata tool, which re-encodes the photo without the embedded data. You re-open the cleaned file in EXIF Viewer to confirm: the table now reads 'No EXIF metadata found in this image.' The listing photo is safe to post, and you still have the JSON if you ever need the camera details.

Supported input and output

Input: JPG is the most reliable, since EXIF was designed for it. HEIC (the default on recent iPhones), TIFF, and PNG are also supported when they actually carry an EXIF, GPS, IPTC, or XMP block — many do, but not all. WebP files can occasionally hold metadata too. The tool accepts files via drag-and-drop, the Choose File button, or pasting an image from the clipboard.

Output: an on-screen table of every tag and value the parser recognised, plus a downloadable JSON file (saved as exif.json) containing the full structured data for archiving, scripting, or sharing with someone else.

Privacy

The tool runs in your browser where supported. Your photo is read with a local object URL and parsed on your own device by the exifr library — it is not uploaded to a server, and there is no account, login, or sign-up.

This matters more here than for most tools, because the whole point is to expose sensitive data such as GPS coordinates. That data stays on your machine. The JSON you download is generated locally and saved straight to your device. One honest note: the exifr parser script itself is fetched once from a public CDN, but your image is never sent anywhere.

How your file is processed

EXIF Viewer parses the file's metadata in your browser on your own device, using the exifr library loaded once from a public CDN. The image itself is not uploaded to a server, which matters when the metadata includes GPS or personal details.

Quality and limitations

This tool only reads metadata; it does not change the photo. To actually delete EXIF or GPS data before sharing, use the Remove Metadata tool, which re-encodes the image without the embedded block. Viewing alone leaves the original file untouched.

If a file has no metadata, the table will say so. Screenshots, images exported by many web apps, photos already stripped by a social platform, and most freshly created graphics carry little or no EXIF — that is expected, not a fault.

Very long values are truncated in the on-screen table (roughly the first 400 characters) to keep it readable. This mainly affects large XMP blocks or embedded edit histories; the Download JSON export is more complete than the visible table, so use it when you need the full text.

Tag names are shown as the parser reports them (for example FNumber, ExposureTime, GPSLatitude) rather than friendly labels, and not every proprietary maker-note field is decoded. The tool also does not map GPS coordinates for you — it gives you the raw latitude and longitude to look up yourself.

Common problems and fixes

'No EXIF metadata found' on a real photo: the file was probably stripped already. Images downloaded from Instagram, Facebook, or WhatsApp usually have their metadata removed by the platform, and screenshots never had any. Try the original file straight off the camera or phone instead of a re-saved copy.

HEIC or PNG shows fewer tags than expected: EXIF support in these formats is optional. If the device or export setting did not write a full block, only partial data (or none) will appear. The same shot saved as JPG often carries more.

GPS fields are missing: location services were likely off when the photo was taken, or the location was removed during export or sharing. Absent GPS data is a good thing for privacy — it simply means there is nothing to strip.

'Could not load exifr' or a parse error: the parser library is fetched from a CDN on first use, so a blocked connection, an offline session, or an ad/script blocker can stop it loading. Re-check your connection, disable the blocker for this page, and reload. A genuine parse error can also mean the file is corrupted or is not actually an image despite its extension.

The preview shows but the table is empty: the image rendered fine but contains no readable metadata. Confirm you opened the original capture rather than an edited or web-optimised version.

Best practices and tips

Always check a photo before posting it publicly, especially anything taken at home, at a child's school, or at a regular location. GPS coordinates plus timestamps are the fields most worth scrutinising.

Download the JSON before you strip a file, so you keep the camera settings and capture date even after the shareable copy has been cleaned.

Use the original file from the camera or phone, not a screenshot or a copy that has passed through a chat app, or the metadata you are looking for may already be gone.

When you only need to confirm what is present, paste the image straight from your clipboard rather than saving it first — the tool reads pasted images directly.

Treat the on-screen table as the readable summary and the JSON export as the source of truth, since the export is not truncated.

Frequently asked questions

Does EXIF Viewer delete or change my photo's metadata?

No. It only reads and displays metadata for inspection; the original file is left untouched. To strip EXIF, GPS, or IPTC data before sharing, use the Remove Metadata tool, which re-encodes the image without the embedded block.

Can it really show where a photo was taken?

Yes, if the file contains GPS data. The tool reads the raw GPSLatitude and GPSLongitude tags, which phones often record to within a few metres. It displays the coordinates; you paste them into any map to see the exact spot. If location was off when the photo was taken, those fields simply will not appear.

Why does my photo show 'No EXIF metadata found'?

The file was likely stripped before it reached you. Images saved from Instagram, Facebook, or WhatsApp usually have their metadata removed by the platform, and screenshots never contained any. Open the original capture straight from the camera or phone to see the full data.

Which file types work best?

JPG is the most reliable because EXIF was built for it. HEIC, TIFF, and PNG work when they actually carry an EXIF, GPS, IPTC, or XMP block — support in those formats is optional, so they sometimes show fewer tags or none. The same shot saved as JPG often reveals more.

What does the Download JSON button give me?

A file (exif.json) containing the full structured metadata the parser found, generated locally on your device. It is more complete than the on-screen table, which truncates very long values, so use the JSON when you need the entire text of large XMP or caption fields.

Is my photo uploaded anywhere when I view its EXIF?

No. The image is read with a local object URL and parsed in your browser by the exifr library. It is not uploaded to our servers for routine operations, and there is no account or sign-up. The only thing fetched from the internet is the parser script itself, loaded once from a public CDN.

Can it read IPTC captions, copyright, and the editing software used?

Yes. Alongside EXIF and GPS it parses IPTC and XMP blocks, which can include the caption, the copyright holder, keywords, and the software that last edited the file — useful for verifying supplied or stock images.

Why are some values cut off in the table?

Long values are truncated to roughly the first 400 characters on screen so the table stays readable. This mainly affects large XMP or edit-history fields. Download the JSON to get the untruncated content.

Last updated: June 2026