Question 1

What is EXIF exactly — and is GPS the only tag I should worry about?

Accepted Answer

EXIF is hundreds of metadata tags inside JPEG / HEIC. GPS is the most sensitive, but the camera serial number (device fingerprint), timestamp (routine/alibi), and editing software (whether you retouched it) also leak privacy. The default "strip GPS only" handles the worst offender fast; "strip everything" is for anonymity.

Question 2

Really, you do not upload my photos? How can I verify?

Accepted Answer

Open DevTools → Network, then drop files — you will see zero POSTs to exif.bal.pe.kr. The processing libraries (exifr, piexifjs, JSZip, Leaflet) are all open-source and run in your browser. OpenStreetMap tile images are fetched only when you expand the map preview.

Question 3

Do you support HEIC? iPhone photos are usually HEIC.

Accepted Answer

If your browser supports HEIC decoding (current Safari and some Chrome builds), the Canvas re-encode path drops metadata entirely and outputs a clean JPEG. For the most predictable pipeline, convert HEIC → JPG first at heic.bal.pe.kr, then strip here.

Question 4

Does KakaoTalk strip EXIF when I send a photo?

Accepted Answer

Default send resizes and re-encodes (EXIF usually goes). But the "send original" option preserves EXIF as-is — dangerous for secondhand or real-estate photos taken at home. Strip here before you hit send.

Question 5

What about Reddit, Instagram, and Facebook?

Accepted Answer

Instagram, Facebook, and X strip most EXIF on upload. Reddit does strip eventually, but scrapers have been observed reading EXIF during the processing delay (especially r/photography). Strip locally first.

Question 6

I'm listing on secondhand / real-estate apps — do I really need to strip?

Accepted Answer

Yes. These platforms have no public EXIF-strip documentation and behavior varies by app version. Indoor photos carry your home GPS, and cached image URLs may retain EXIF even after you delete the post.

Question 7

I want to keep the timestamp but remove GPS only.

Accepted Answer

That's exactly what the default "strip GPS only" does: GPS and the embedded thumbnail go, everything else (camera, lens, capture time) stays intact — useful for blog posts and portfolios.

Question 8

Is the output lower quality than the original?

Accepted Answer

JPEG: lossless — piexifjs replaces only the EXIF block, pixels untouched. PNG: re-encoded, but PNG itself is lossless. WebP / HEIC: re-encoded at quality 0.92, so file size may differ slightly.

Question 9

Any limit on batch size? Can I do hundreds of photos at once?

Accepted Answer

Processed in batches of 40 with no hard cap; 200–300 files typically run smoothly. Beyond that, browser memory becomes the bottleneck — split into two passes.

Question 10

Does it work with Korean file names?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Names are handled in-browser and stored as UTF-8 inside the ZIP. Korean / Japanese / Chinese all work. Older Windows Explorer ZIP viewers can mangle UTF-8 names — use 7-Zip or Keka instead.

Question 11

Can I undo the strip?

Accepted Answer

Stripped EXIF is gone for good. The tool never overwrites the source — it creates *-no-exif.jpg etc. — but you cannot recover metadata from the stripped output. Keep the original if you may want to revisit.

Question 12

Are Copyright / Artist tags removed too?

Accepted Answer

Only when you pick "strip everything" or enable the "author" category in custom mode. The default (GPS only) preserves copyright tags — safe for portfolios and blog posts.

Question 13

Does this strip C2PA / AI-generation provenance tags?

Accepted Answer

Canvas re-encode paths (PNG / WebP / HEIC) drop every ancillary block including C2PA. The default JPEG path edits EXIF only, so C2PA may remain; "strip everything" removes most ancillary blocks from JPEG too. Note: some platforms prohibit removing AI-provenance tags — check terms before doing so.

Question 14

Does it work on mobile (iOS Safari / Android Chrome)?

Accepted Answer

Yes — current iOS Safari and Android Chrome both work. HEIC decoding is more reliable on iOS; some Android devices fail on HEIC directly, in which case convert at heic.bal.pe.kr first.

Question 15

Is there a paid version? Ads are distracting.

Accepted Answer

Fully free today, AdSense-supported. Ad blockers are allowed and every feature works with them on. A Pro tier (video / PDF metadata, API) is under consideration.

FAQ