Pick 'Superficial cleanup' when removing all metadata isn't an option, so user can keep most relevant one. Backup option also available, in cases 'something go wrong'. After first start we'll see GTK application with simple GUI: 'Add Files' button, added files with numbers of identified tags and 'Clean' button. Not so popular like digiKam, but can be easily installed from Flathub. Metadata Cleaner, an Open Source application licensed under GPL, does exactly what the name says: 'Metadata Cleaner allows you to view metadata in your files and to get rid of it, as much as possible.' Works with pictures, videos, EPUB and PDF formats. All options live in Images -> Metadata menu you can easily clone and remove metadata in one click for one or many photos. The application is definitely one of the best in photo area and supports EXIF, IPTC, or XMP metadata formats and allows you to edit also licensing, location and contact info, templates are helpful for big archives. The option 'Clear Your Traces' seems like not well known, so let's do some promotion here -) digiKamĭigiKam is a popular image organizer, licensed under GPL. Check all info before publishing on internet, 'cause there's no 'revert' button - you can't remove anything from world web. Photo, video, PDF and office documents living their hidden internal lives covered by metadata and can tell a lot about their creator.

But in enemy hands, metadata transforms into a weapon. Metadata isn't evil 'cause helpful for making collections and working with big archives, especially for searching: file managers often creating index DB heavily relied on metadata.

You maybe don't need it now, but will need it later: the future isn't always predictable. It can be timestamps, GPS location, owner, organization, specific hardware info and more.

4 min read Photo by Anne Nygård / Unsplash So why?įiles often contain personal information.

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