What Is EXIF Data?
The block of information a camera writes into every photo — field by field.
EXIF stands for Exchangeable Image File Format. When a camera or phone saves a JPEG it writes a block describing how the picture was made: the device, the settings, the moment, and often the place. That block travels with the file wherever it goes.
You can read yours with the EXIF viewer — it parses the file in your browser and lists everything it finds.
Where it lives
A JPEG is a sequence of marker segments. EXIF sits in one called APP1, near the start of the file and before any pixel data. Inside APP1 is a small TIFF structure: a header saying which byte order the numbers use, then directories of tagged entries. The first directory holds general tags, and two of its entries are pointers — one to the capture settings, one to GPS.
That layered arrangement is why some tools show camera and date but no location: the GPS directory is a separate hop, and a reader that does not follow the pointer never sees it.
The fields you will actually see
Camera and image
- Make and Model — the device. Present on almost every camera photo.
- Orientation — how the camera was held. Viewers rotate the image using this rather than rewriting the pixels, which is why a photo can appear sideways in one app and upright in another.
- Software — the firmware or the editor that last wrote the file. A strong clue that an image has been processed.
- DateTime — when the file was last written, which is not always when the photo was taken.
- Artist and Copyright — filled in by photographers who configure their cameras.
Capture settings
- ExposureTime — shutter speed, usually shown as a fraction such as 1/250 s.
- FNumber — aperture, as f/2.8. Lower means a wider opening and a shallower depth of field.
- ISO — sensor sensitivity. Higher numbers mean a darker scene and more noise.
- FocalLength — the lens position in millimetres, plus a 35mm-equivalent on many cameras so the field of view is comparable.
- Flash — a bit field; the useful part is whether it fired.
- DateTimeOriginal — when the shutter actually fired. This is the timestamp that matters.
Location
- GPSLatitude / GPSLongitude — stored as three rational numbers, degrees, minutes and seconds.
- GPSLatitudeRef / GPSLongitudeRef — N/S and E/W. Without these the numbers are ambiguous, since the coordinates themselves are unsigned.
- GPSAltitude — metres, with a separate reference field saying above or below sea level.
- GPSTimeStamp and GPSDateStamp — UTC from the satellites, independent of the device clock.
Converting to the decimal coordinates a map expects is straightforward: degrees + minutes/60 + seconds/3600, negated for South or West. A reading of 21° 1′ 30″ N becomes 21.025.
Why it disappears
- Social platforms re-encode uploads and drop metadata.
- Screenshots never had it — no camera was involved.
- Editing exports often write only a fraction of the original fields.
- Format conversion to PNG or WebP loses it, since neither carries EXIF the way JPEG does.
- Deliberate removal — see removing EXIF data.
How far to trust it
EXIF is written by the device, not certified by anyone. The timestamp comes from a clock that may be wrong, unset after a battery change, or in the wrong time zone. Editing software can rewrite any field, and dedicated tools can write whatever they like.
Treat it as a strong hint that is easy to check and easy to fake. Its absence proves nothing either: the most common reason a photo has no metadata is that it passed through a website.
Frequently asked questions
Is EXIF the same as IPTC or XMP?
No. EXIF is written by the camera and describes capture. IPTC and XMP are for captions, credits, keywords and rights, and are usually added later by people rather than devices.
Do RAW files have EXIF?
Yes, generally more of it than the JPEG a camera produces alongside them, including maker-specific fields that only the manufacturer's software fully understands.
Can I edit EXIF rather than remove it?
Dedicated desktop software can rewrite individual fields. The tools here take the simpler route: read everything, or remove everything.
Related guides
- How to remove EXIF data — and why it matters
- JPEG vs PNG vs WebP — which formats carry metadata
- Editing MP3 tags — the audio equivalent