Image Analyzer — read the EXIF, GPS and edit history hidden inside any photo
Drop a photo into the box at the top and we pull out everything the file has to say about itself — the camera and lens, the GPS spot it was taken, the date, the software it has been opened in, the colour profile. Most of this is invisible when you just look at the photo. This page covers what each field means, how to read it for things like dating-app catfish checks or finding where a holiday photo was taken, and how to strip it out before you share a photo you'd rather not leave a trail on.
The fields you'll see, in plain English
| Field | What it tells you | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Make and Model | The camera or phone — e.g. "Apple iPhone 15 Pro" or "Canon EOS R5" | A photo claiming to be from a DSLR but tagged iPhone is suspicious |
| DateTimeOriginal | When the shutter actually fired | The real date of the photo — survives edits that change the file date |
| GPSLatitude / GPSLongitude | Coordinates where the photo was taken | Accurate to a few metres. Paste into Google Maps for the exact spot |
| LensModel / FocalLength / FNumber | The lens, the zoom, and the aperture used | Tells you whether it's a phone (single focal length) or a real camera |
| Software | The last app that wrote the file — "Adobe Photoshop 26.0", "Lightroom Mobile" | A photo claiming to be unedited but tagged Photoshop has been touched |
| XMP History | A list of the edit steps applied in Lightroom or Photoshop | You can read the actual sequence of edits — crop, exposure, healing brush, layers |
Read the GPS in three clicks
GPS coordinates are the most useful field for most non-photographer users. Once the analyzer has run:
- Copy the latitude and longitude pair, e.g.
48.8584, 2.2945. - Paste it directly into the Google Maps search box and hit Enter.
- The map will drop a pin on the exact spot the photo was taken.
Caveat: phones round the coordinates slightly, so the pin is usually within 5–15 metres of the real spot, not down to the centimetre.
What different messaging apps strip — and what they leave behind
A photo loses different parts of its metadata depending on how you sent it. This affects both your privacy (if you sent the photo) and your investigation (if you received it). Here is what tends to survive:
| App | GPS | Camera info | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Removed | Removed | Removed | |
| Signal | Removed | Removed | Removed |
| Telegram (compressed) | Removed | Removed | Removed |
| Telegram ("Send as file") | Kept | Kept | Kept |
| iMessage | Removed | Removed | Kept |
| Instagram (post) | Removed | Removed | Removed |
| Email attachment | Kept | Kept | Kept |
| AirDrop / file share | Kept | Kept | Kept |
The two rules to remember: anything sent through a chat app's photo button is usually stripped; anything sent as a file attachment (email, AirDrop, "Send as file" on Telegram) keeps everything. If you receive a photo over WhatsApp and the EXIF is empty, that does not mean the original had no EXIF — it just means WhatsApp removed it. Ask for the file directly to see the full data.
Three small investigations you can run with this tool
Catfish check on a dating-app photo
Ask your match to send you the original photo as a file (over email or as a Telegram file, not a chat photo). If the EXIF is completely empty and the file size is suspiciously small, the photo has probably been downloaded from the internet and re-shared — the file went through a compression step that stripped everything. Pair this with a reverse image search to see where else the photo appears.
Where was this holiday photo taken?
A friend sends you a photo with no caption. If they sent it through AirDrop, Telegram-as-file, or email, the GPS coordinates are still there. Run the file through the analyzer, paste the coordinates into Google Maps, and you'll see the exact restaurant, viewpoint or street corner. This is how OSINT investigators routinely locate where a photo was taken.
Has this "raw" photo actually been edited?
A real-estate listing, a profile photo, a model portfolio shot. Check the Software field. If it says anything other than the original camera firmware (e.g. "iOS 18.2" or "Canon Digital Photo Professional"), the photo has been through an editor. Photoshop, Lightroom, Snapseed, FaceTune — they all leave a trail. The XMP History field will sometimes list each adjustment step in order.
Strip your own EXIF before sharing
If you are about to post a photo somewhere that keeps EXIF — a personal blog, a real-estate listing, a forum — and the photo was taken at home, you'll want to remove the GPS first. Quick options:
- ✓Windows: Right-click the photo → Properties → Details tab → "Remove Properties and Personal Information" → choose "Create a copy with all possible properties removed". This is built in and works on every JPEG.
- ✓Mac: Open the photo in Preview → Tools → Show Inspector → click the "i" tab → if a GPS tab is shown, click it and use the trash icon to remove the location. (Apple removes other fields automatically when you export.)
- ✓iPhone: When sharing a photo, tap "Options" at the top of the share sheet and turn off "Location". This strips the GPS for that one share. To stop it being recorded at all, Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Camera → Never.
- ✓Command line (for batches):
exiftool -all= -overwrite_original *.jpgwipes every EXIF field in every JPEG in a folder.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my photo have no EXIF at all?
Three usual causes: it came through a chat app that strips data (see the table above), it's a screenshot (screenshots only have the device that took them, no GPS or lens), or it's an AI-generated image (no camera was involved). A genuine camera photo that has been through Instagram or WhatsApp will have most fields blank but usually keeps the dimensions and colour space.
Can someone fake the EXIF data?
Yes — every field can be edited with a tool like ExifTool. Forensic investigators look for inconsistencies: a "Canon EOS R5" photo with a focal length that doesn't match any Canon RF lens, or a GPS coordinate in a country where the timestamp's time zone doesn't fit. If a single piece of metadata matters in a dispute, treat it as evidence, not proof.
Does the analyzer change my file?
No. We only read the metadata, never write to the file. The original sits on our storage until you hit the Purge button, at which point we delete it.
What file types?
JPEG and TIFF carry the richest EXIF. PNG and WebP carry less (mostly XMP and colour profile). HEIC from iPhone works if you convert to JPEG first using the iPhone's Photos app share menu. RAW files (CR3, NEF, ARW) carry the most metadata of all but need to be re-saved as JPEG before upload — most RAW viewers do this in one click.
Where the messaging-app table came from. We tested each app by sending the same iPhone 15 Pro photo (with location on) to ourselves through each route and analysing what came back. The behaviour does change with updates — if you notice a mismatch, please let us know and we will retest.
