Question 1

What metadata does this tool strip?

Accepted Answer

For JPEG: APP1 EXIF segments, APP1 XMP segments, and APP13 IPTC/Photoshop segments are removed. For PNG: all tEXt, zTXt, and iTXt chunks are removed. For WebP: RIFF is preserved but EXIF/XMP ancillary chunks are stripped. The actual pixel data (JPEG entropy-coded data, PNG IDAT chunks, WebP VP8 bitstream) is never re-encoded — only the metadata segments are dropped.

Question 2

Does stripping re-encode the image?

Accepted Answer

No. We surgically remove only the metadata segments/chunks. The pixel data is copied verbatim, so image quality is 100% preserved — no JPEG recompression, no PNG re-encoding. This is faster and safer than re-exporting via canvas.

Question 3

Which file formats are supported?

Accepted Answer

JPEG (any APP-marker variant — JFIF, EXIF, SPIFF), PNG (all color types), and WebP (lossy + lossless + alpha). The tool detects format from magic bytes and refuses unsupported types.

Question 4

What extra features does this tool have compared to others?

Accepted Answer

10 extras: (1) Drag-drop multiple files. (2) Batch process — strip unlimited files at once. (3) Before/after size comparison per file. (4) Metadata summary — lists exactly which segments/chunks were removed (EXIF, XMP, IPTC, PNG tEXt, etc.). (5) ZIP download for batch results. (6) Stats panel — total files processed, total bytes saved. (7) Image preview before/after stripping. (8) Original filename preserved (with `-stripped` suffix). (9) History of stripped files (localStorage — last 10). (10) Shareable URL for re-opening the tool with preset options.

Question 5

Is my image uploaded anywhere?

Accepted Answer

No. All parsing and stripping runs in your browser. The image bytes never leave your device. Only metadata summaries (filename, sizes) are saved to local history — never the image bytes themselves.

Question 6

Will stripping break my image?

Accepted Answer

No. The JPEG stream remains a valid JPEG (SOI + frame + scan + EOI), PNG remains a valid PNG (signature + IHDR + IDAT + IEND), WebP remains valid RIFF. The output opens in every image viewer. The only change is that viewer-reported EXIF/metadata will be empty.

File Metadata Stripper

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