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EnglishWhat Privacy Controls Does ExifCleaner Offer?
Updated
ExifCleaner gives you four privacy controls that change what happens during a clean: you can fine-tune which metadata gets removed, preserve orientation, save copies instead of overwriting originals, and strip extended attributes. These options matter because the default "strip everything" behavior isn't always what you want — removing orientation data can rotate your photos, and overwriting originals leaves no way back if you clean the wrong file.
The controls are described on exifcleaner.com under the "Privacy Controls" feature. The site does not document the exact menu location or default state of each toggle, so treat the descriptions below as what each option does rather than a click-by-click walkthrough.
The four controls and what each one changes
| Control | What it affects | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Fine-tune what gets removed | Which metadata fields are stripped from the file | You need to keep some metadata (e.g., copyright or color profile) while removing GPS or camera data |
| Preserve orientation | Keeps the orientation tag so viewers display the image the right way up | You're cleaning photos taken on phones or cameras that rely on an orientation flag |
| Save copies | Writes cleaned files alongside the originals instead of replacing them | You want a fallback, are testing settings, or need to keep the untouched source |
| Strip extended attributes | Removes extra filesystem-level metadata beyond standard EXIF | You want the most thorough clean and don't need extended attributes preserved |
Why "preserve orientation" is the control people miss
Most image viewers and browsers read an orientation tag to decide whether to rotate a photo. If you strip all metadata, that tag disappears, and a portrait photo shot on a phone can display sideways. Preserving orientation keeps the tag that tells the viewer which way is up, while still removing the sensitive fields like GPS coordinates, camera model, and capture date.
The site's own example of what gets removed shows exactly the kind of data at stake: GPS: 37.7749, -122.4194 | Camera: iPhone 15 Pro | Date: 2024-03-15. Orientation is a display hint, not personal data, so keeping it costs you little privacy.
Save copies vs. overwrite
By default, a cleaner that modifies files in place is fast but unforgiving. The save-copies option changes the output: cleaned files are written separately, and your originals stay untouched. Use it when:
- You're cleaning a batch for the first time and want to verify results before committing.
- The originals are the only copy you have.
- You need to compare before-and-after (the site's metadata inspection feature shows a diff of removed fields, which pairs naturally with keeping originals).
Once you trust your settings, overwriting is fine for throwaway copies.
Extended attributes: the extra layer
Standard EXIF lives inside the image file. Extended attributes (xattrs) live at the filesystem level and can carry their own metadata. Stripping them makes the clean more complete, but it's a separate toggle because some workflows depend on xattrs for things like tags or quarantine flags. If you just want GPS and camera data gone, you don't need this on.
What the controls don't change
Two things stay constant regardless of your settings. First, ExifCleaner makes no network access and collects no telemetry — the site states this and points to the open-source code so you can verify it. Second, the supported formats don't shrink: JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, GIF, MP4, MOV, M4A, PDF, and more are all handled. The controls only affect what is removed and where the output goes, not which file types work.
A practical starting configuration
If you're cleaning photos to share publicly and want to avoid surprises:
- Turn on preserve orientation so photos don't rotate.
- Turn on save copies for your first batch.
- Leave strip extended attributes off unless you have a specific reason.
- Use fine-tune to keep any field you legitimately need (for example, a color profile).
Then check the before-and-after diff on one file to confirm the GPS and camera fields are gone and orientation survived. Once that checks out, you can drop save-copies and process the rest in place.
The site does not publish a default state for these toggles, so verify the current settings in the app before running a large batch — a single test file is the cheapest way to confirm your configuration does what you expect.