How to Remove Metadata from Multiple Photos at Once

To batch remove metadata from multiple photos at once, use an online tool for small sets (ours takes up to 10 JPEG, PNG or WebP images and returns a ZIP), select the files in Windows File Explorer and use "Remove Properties and Personal Information", or run ExifTool on a whole folder with exiftool -r -all= DIR. Lightroom Classic and the Mac Convert Image quick action can also strip metadata in bulk, but they re-encode the photos.

Batch metadata removal methods compared

The right method depends on how many files you have, which device you are on, and whether you care about keeping the original image quality. Here is how the common options compare:

If you only need GPS removed rather than everything, see our guide to removing location from photos.

Clean up to 10 photos at once online

For a few photos you are about to post or send, a browser tool avoids installing anything and works the same on a phone, a work laptop or a library computer.

1. Open our free metadata remover.
2. Select or drop up to 10 images. JPEG, PNG and WebP are accepted, up to 25 MB each.
3. Leave the output on "Keep same format" to avoid re-encoding.
4. Download the result. Several images come back as a single ZIP file.
5. Read the report, which lists what was found and removed for each file, such as GPS coordinates, camera model, capture date or serial number.

In its default mode the tool removes EXIF (including GPS, maker notes and embedded thumbnails), XMP, IPTC, comments, text chunks and C2PA data, and keeps only the color profile and orientation flag so photos look the same. Files are processed on our server and deleted automatically 10 minutes later. For more than 10 photos, run several batches. HEIC and RAW files are not accepted: on an iPhone, choose "Most Compatible" under Settings > Camera > Formats for future photos, or share existing ones as JPEG.

Remove properties from many files in Windows File Explorer

Windows has a built-in bulk option that many people never notice:

1. In File Explorer, select the photos (Ctrl+A for the whole folder, or Ctrl+click individual files).
2. Right-click the selection and choose Properties.
3. Open the Details tab and click Remove Properties and Personal Information at the bottom.
4. Choose Create a copy with all possible properties removed to keep your originals, or Remove the following properties from this file, then Select All, to clean them in place.
5. Click OK.

The copy option creates new files next to the originals with "- Copy" added to the name. The limitation is in the word "possible": Windows removes the properties its handlers know how to write, which works well for common EXIF fields in JPEG files but does not guarantee that maker notes, every XMP field or data in other formats is gone. Check one file afterwards. Our Windows metadata guide covers these limits in detail.

Batch remove metadata on a Mac

Finder's Convert Image quick action

Since macOS Monterey, Finder can convert several images in one go and drop their metadata at the same time:

1. Select the photos in Finder.
2. Control-click the selection and choose Quick Actions > Convert Image.
3. Pick the format (JPEG, PNG or HEIF) and the size; choose Actual Size to keep full resolution.
4. Untick Preserve Metadata.
5. Click the Convert button. New files are saved next to the originals, which stay untouched.

This is also a convenient way to turn a batch of iPhone HEIC photos into JPEGs. The trade-off is that every file is re-encoded. Check one converted file in Preview (Tools > Show Inspector) to confirm the result on your macOS version.

Photos app export

In Photos, select the images, choose File > Export > Export [number] Photos, and untick the Location Information option. This removes location from all exported copies, but camera make, model, capture date and other EXIF fields remain. "Export Unmodified Original" keeps every piece of metadata, so do not use it for sharing.

Share several iPhone photos without their location

If the photos are still on your iPhone and only the location worries you, the share sheet handles a whole selection at once:

1. In the Photos app, tap Select and choose the photos.
2. Tap the Share button, then tap Options at the top of the share sheet.
3. Turn off Location and tap Done.
4. Share as usual through Messages, Mail, AirDrop or another app.

The setting applies to that share only, and it removes GPS data, not the camera model or capture date. Your library keeps the original location. Labels can differ slightly between iOS versions; our guide to removing EXIF data on iPhone covers the other options, including how to get JPEG instead of HEIC.

Batch remove metadata from a folder with ExifTool

For hundreds or thousands of photos, nested folders, or a repeatable process, ExifTool is the standard. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and deletes metadata without touching the image data. Writing cleaned copies to a separate folder is the safest pattern:

exiftool -r -all= -tagsfromfile @ -colorspacetags -orientation \
  -ext jpg -ext jpeg -ext png -ext webp -progress -o cleaned/ DIR

• -r includes subfolders, and -ext restricts the run to image files so documents and RAW files are left alone.
• -tagsfromfile @ -colorspacetags -orientation puts back the color profile and rotation flag after the wipe, so colors and orientation stay correct.
• -o cleaned/ writes new files into one flat cleaned folder and never overwrites an existing file; -progress shows a running count.

To clean in place instead, drop -o cleaned/. ExifTool then keeps each original as name.jpg_original, unless you add -overwrite_original. The full option list, including removing only GPS or keeping copyright, is in our ExifTool cheat sheet.

Batch export from Lightroom Classic and other editors

If your photos already live in Lightroom Classic, the export dialog is your batch tool. Select all the images in the Library grid, choose File > Export, set the Metadata panel to Copyright Only (or tick Remove Person Info and Remove Location Info), and save the settings as a preset. Every image in the selection is exported with those settings. Because exports are new files, quality depends on your JPEG settings. The options are explained in our guide to removing metadata in Photoshop and Lightroom.

Photoshop users can record an action that runs Save for Web with Metadata set to None, then run it on a folder with File > Automate > Batch.

A safe workflow for cleaning photos in bulk

Batch tools work fast, which also means mistakes spread fast. A few habits prevent the common ones:

• Work on copies. Copy the photos you plan to share into a separate folder first. Capture dates and locations are valuable in your own library, and some in-place methods have no undo.
• Check a sample, then the whole set. Open two or three cleaned files in a metadata viewer. With ExifTool, exiftool -r -if '$GPSLatitude' -filename DIR lists any file that still has coordinates; no output means none do.
• Look at the file names. Phones often name photos after the capture time, such as 20240512_183012.jpg or PXL_20240512_183012345.jpg. Metadata tools do not rename files. In File Explorer, selecting all and pressing F2 gives every file the same base name with a number; on a Mac, Finder's Rename command does the same.
• Watch for mixed formats. A folder exported from a phone may contain HEIC images, videos and screenshots. Make sure your method handles each type, or the unsupported ones may be skipped silently.
• Remember what metadata removal cannot do. A cleaned photo can still show your street, your car's plate or a document on your desk. Scan the images themselves before publishing.

For details on confirming results on each operating system, see how to check that metadata was really removed.

Which method should you use?

• A few photos, any device: the online tool, 10 at a time.
• A folder on Windows, no installs: File Explorer's "Create a copy with all possible properties removed", then spot-check.
• A set of iPhone photos on a Mac: Convert Image with Preserve Metadata unticked.
• Large archives, websites or repeat jobs: ExifTool writing to a separate folder.
• Photos you are editing anyway: a Lightroom Classic export preset.