Cleaning metadata with ExifTool¶

For thorough metadata removal, ExifTool is the most capable option. It needs installing first; after that, everything runs from a terminal or command prompt.

To clean a single file:

exiftool -all= -overwrite_original yourfile.jpg

To clean every file in a folder:

exiftool -all= -overwrite_original /path/to/folder/

This permanently removes the hidden data from the files.

Last reviewed: 2026-07-08.