What is image metadata? EXIF, XMP, IPTC and content credentials explained

2026-10-16 · 4 min read

Every image file is more than pixels. It can also hold text and numbers that describe the picture. This is called metadata. Most of it is useful, some of it is private, and some of it you may not know is there.

The main types

Type	What it can contain
EXIF	Camera or phone maker and model, date and time, lens, settings, the software that saved the file, and often GPS location.
XMP	Information added by editing or creative tools: editing history, tool names, ratings, sometimes AI tool information.
IPTC	Captions, author, copyright text and keywords, common in news and stock photos.
Colour profile (ICC)	How the colours should be shown. Harmless for privacy, and it can make a file a little bigger.
Text notes	Small text fields. In PNG files some AI tools save the prompt here.
Content Credentials (C2PA)	A signed record that says how an image was made or edited, for example that AI was used.

When metadata matters

Privacy: a photo can show where you live or work if GPS is stored.
Client work: a file can reveal the tools and dates you used, or a prompt you did not mean to share.
File size: embedded profiles and notes add weight.

When you should keep it

Copyright and author fields help prove who made a picture. Content Credentials can be a good thing when you want to show honestly how an image was made. Remove metadata when you have a reason, not out of habit.

Metadata is not a watermark

Metadata sits next to the pixels and can be deleted without changing the picture. An invisible watermark such as SynthID is written into the pixels themselves, so deleting metadata does not remove it. Read what SynthID is.

How to see what is inside your file

Image Cleaner shows, for every image you clean, the list of hidden items the original carried and confirms the cleaned file has none. GPS is only reported as “found”, the position is not displayed. See also how to remove EXIF and GPS data.