MetaClean

Inspect file metadata and remove selected fields from supported images and PDFs before sharing.

v1.0.1 · Windows 10 / 11 · x64 · MIT · Offline

Download for Windows Source code ↗

First run / Verify download →

Requires Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime.

MetaClean running on Windows with demonstration data — View screenshot ↗

First run / Verify your download

Extract the whole ZIP into a folder and run MetaClean.exe. Keep adjacent packaged files and folders together. Keep the bundled exiftool/ folder alongside MetaClean.exe.

Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime is required separately. Install it from Microsoft if missing; it is not bundled or installed automatically by the app.

Windows binaries are not Authenticode signed, so Windows may show a reputation or security warning. Download only through official ALMARFELD or GitHub release links. Do not disable Windows security.

For an optional SHA-256 check, open PowerShell in the folder containing your downloaded ZIP and run:

Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 .\MetaClean-v1.0.1-win-x64.zipExpected SHA-256:5e0bb88b342eb1316a43b24558709e75b735010e6eb0967561a16bea7147d504

Compare the Hash value; letter case does not matter. A matching hash confirms the downloaded bytes match the published artifact; it is not a malware scan or an Authenticode signature. Do not run a file with a different hash.

Features

Inspect hidden file metadata before sharing: location, author names, camera details and software information. Choose a cleaning profile for supported images and PDFs, save a cleaned copy, and check what remains. The bundled ExifTool engine does the work locally.

Metadata inspection

Inspect metadata by category, with sensitive fields highlighted. Search values and copy them for review.

Cleaning profiles

Use Privacy Clean, Remove All Metadata or Custom categories on supported formats. Process files in a batch queue.

Re-scan and export

The inspector, queue counts and CSV/JSON reports refresh from the actual cleaned copy. Per-file failures remain visible.

Portable ExifTool

The bundled engine is found beside the executable, including shortcut launches and different working directories. Keep the extracted package together; nothing is downloaded automatically.

Remove GPS metadata from a sharing copy

Start with a disposable JPEG whose inspector actually shows GPS tags. Note the fields, choose Custom with the GPS category, keep original replacement disabled and select an output folder. Inspect the cleaned output path shown in the result, rather than the source image.

The selected removable GPS fields should be absent after cleaning. File size, image dimensions and derived properties can still appear; a lower total metadata count is not proof that location was removed. Privacy Clean targets more categories than GPS alone. Review per-file errors and the actual remaining fields.

Visible addresses, landmarks and reflections remain in the image. DOCX, XLSX and PPTX are inspection-only; PDF metadata writes may be incremental/reversible and do not securely sanitize a PDF.

Follow the GPS inspection example and read-only ExifTool check →

How to use it

Add files or a folder
Inspect metadata
Choose a cleaning profile
Review the cleaned copy

Privacy and limitations

Files and metadata are processed locally. Cleaning creates a separate copy by default. Optional original replacement requires confirmation and a backup; there are no accounts, uploads or runtime network calls.

JPG, PNG, TIFF, WebP and PDF support cleaning. HEIC/HEIF support depends on the bundled engine. DOCX, XLSX and PPTX are inspection-only. ExifTool PDF metadata writes may be incremental/reversible. A clean metadata scan does not prove secure PDF sanitization.

Support and bug reports →