EXIF Reader
Read the camera, lens, and exposure metadata stored inside a photo. Nothing leaves your browser.
About this tool
Every camera writes a block of metadata into the files it produces, called EXIF. It records the settings used, the body and lens, the moment the shutter fired, and on some cameras the location. It is how you answer questions like what aperture you actually used on a shot you like, or whether a second-hand lens really took the sample images a seller sent you.
This reader parses that block locally. The file is opened by your browser and never sent anywhere, which matters more than it sounds: photo metadata routinely contains GPS coordinates precise enough to identify a home address, and uploading a picture to a random website to read them defeats the purpose.
Not every file has usable metadata. Screenshots never do. Social media platforms strip EXIF on upload, deliberately, which is why a photo saved from Instagram comes back nearly empty. Editing software often rewrites or drops parts of the block, so an original file straight off the memory card always tells you the most.
Frequently asked questions
- Is my photo uploaded to a server?
- No. The file is read in your browser using local JavaScript and never transmitted. You can confirm this by opening your browser's network tab, or by disconnecting from the internet after loading the page, the tool still works.
- Which file types work?
- JPEG, PNG, HEIC, and most TIFF-based RAW formats including NEF, CR2, ARW, DNG, ORF, and RW2. Some proprietary containers such as Canon's CR3 and Fujifilm's RAF are not reliably readable.
- Why does my photo show no metadata?
- Most likely it was downloaded from a social platform, exported by software that stripped it, or is a screenshot. Facebook, Instagram, X, and WhatsApp all remove EXIF on upload. Use the original file from the camera or phone instead.
- Can I see where a photo was taken?
- Only if the camera recorded it. Phones geotag by default unless location access is off, while most standalone cameras have no GPS at all and record nothing. When coordinates are present they appear in the Location section.
- How do I remove EXIF data from my photos?
- This tool only reads metadata, it does not edit it. Most operating systems can strip it: on Windows, right-click, Properties, then Remove Properties; on macOS, exporting from Preview without location data works. Uploading to any social platform also strips it as a side effect.
Read more about this
- What EXIF actually contains, and what it gives awayEvery photograph you take carries a few hundred fields of metadata. Some of it will diagnose a lens problem for you. Some of it will tell a stranger where you live.
- What shutter count tells you when buying a used cameraA number that gets treated as an odometer, quoted as a verdict, and misunderstood in both directions.