What Is MetaStrip and What Does It Do?

Updated

MetaStrip is a browser-based tool that removes hidden metadata from files before you share them. It strips GPS coordinates, camera and device details, author names, edit history, and AI-generation tags (including C2PA Content Credentials) from photos, videos, PDFs, and Office documents. All processing happens locally in your browser — files are never uploaded to a server. It's useful whenever a file leaves your device and you don't want its embedded details to travel with it.

What kinds of metadata does it remove?

MetaStrip targets the details that files carry silently. According to the site, these include:

File type Metadata removed
Photos (JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, HEIC, AVIF) GPS coordinates (to within ~5 metres), device and serial number, camera info, timestamps, AI-generation tags
PDFs Author names, edit history, software fingerprints
Word, Excel, PowerPoint (docx, xlsx, pptx) Author names, tracked changes
Video and audio (mp4, mov, mp3, m4a, flac, wav) Embedded metadata
AI-generated images C2PA Content Credentials identifying the tool used (e.g., DALL·E, Midjourney, ChatGPT, Firefly)

The GPS and device details are the most consequential for everyday sharing: a photo taken at home can reveal where you live, and a device serial number can link every photo to one phone.

How does it work?

The workflow is three steps:

  1. Drop a file into the browser window (or click to browse).
  2. Review what's exposed — MetaStrip reads the metadata locally with its own parsers and libraries such as pdf-lib, then shows you exactly what's embedded.
  3. Strip it — the tool writes a clean copy back out for you to download.

Because everything runs in JavaScript in your browser, there is no upload, no server, and no temporary cache. The site says you can verify this yourself: open DevTools, switch to the Network tab, and process a file — no request carrying your file should appear.

Other practical details from the site:

  • Batch processing of up to 100 files at once.
  • Open source under the MIT licence, with code on GitHub.
  • Works on mobile and desktop, online or offline.

When should you use it?

MetaStrip is worth running before any file leaves your device in a context where the embedded details matter. Concrete cases the site lists:

  • Sending a contract to opposing counsel.
  • Posting photos to forums or marketplaces (especially photos taken at home).
  • Delivering AI-generated work to clients, where generation tags could change whether the work is accepted.
  • Submitting journalism under sensitive circumstances.
  • Publishing anything anonymously, since devices fingerprint themselves through metadata.
  • Sending a Word document with revision history to a client.

What to check before relying on it

  • Confirm the output. After stripping, open the clean copy and re-check its properties (or drop it back into MetaStrip) to confirm the fields you cared about are gone.
  • Keep an original. Stripping writes a new copy; retain the original if you may need its metadata later (e.g., for provenance or archiving).
  • Check format support. The listed formats cover the common cases, but if you work with an unusual format, test one file first.
  • Pricing and account requirements are not specified in the available site information, so check the Pricing page directly if cost or login matters to you.

In short: if you share files and want to control what they reveal about you, MetaStrip is a local, no-upload way to see and remove that hidden layer before sending.