This viewer lists every EXIF, GPS, XMP, IPTC and PNG text field it finds in one JPEG, PNG, WebP or HEIC file, plus the words inside its color profile, grouped by where each value is stored. A summary at the top pulls out the capture time, coordinates (to five decimal places, about one meter), device, lens, serial numbers, names and the color profile. It is read-only: no copy is made and nothing is removed.
When a viewer is the right tool
Sometimes you do not want to clean a photo yet. You want to know what is in it. Maybe a friend asked whether the pictures they posted show their address. Maybe you received a photo as evidence and need the original capture details intact. Maybe you are about to sell a camera and want to see whether its serial number is written into sample shots.
A viewer answers those questions without touching the file. That matters when the metadata is the point, for example when a timestamp backs up an insurance claim. You can look first and decide afterwards.
How to read a photo's tags
- Press Choose a file or drop a single photo on the box.
- Read the summary at the top of the result: Taken, Location, Device, Lens, Serial numbers, Names and rights, Software, Color profile.
- Check the Contains line, which names each kind of metadata present, such as GPS location, maker notes or Content Credentials.
- Scroll through the table below it. Each row shows the group the tag lives in, the tag name and its value.
- Pick another file to replace the result. Nothing is saved between files.
Reading the summary
Taken shows the most specific capture date in the file, with its time zone offset when one is recorded. A photo can hold several dates that disagree; the photo date finder lists them all side by side and explains which to trust.
Location shows latitude and longitude in decimal degrees, followed by altitude in meters if present. Negative latitude means south of the equator; negative longitude means west of Greenwich. Five decimal places is roughly one meter of precision on the ground, though the phone's GPS fix is usually less exact than that. An altitude below sea level is shown with a minus sign. Latitude 0, longitude 0 is a real spot in the Gulf of Guinea and is shown like any other position. If two EXIF blocks hold two different positions, both appear. If the coordinates only exist in the XMP block, the summary says "yes (in XMP)" and the table shows them as written.
Device and Lens come from the EXIF Make, Model and LensModel tags and from their XMP equivalents. When the two disagree, both values are shown.
Serial numbers collects any tag whose name marks it as a serial, for example SerialNumber or LensSerialNumber.
Names and rights gathers the fields that name a person, an owner or a contact: Artist, Copyright, OwnerName, creator, credit, source and caption-writer fields from EXIF, XMP and IPTC, the names of people tagged in the picture, contact details, and the Author and Copyright notes of a PNG.
Color profile appears whenever the photo carries one. Cleaning keeps the profile, and a profile carries some text too: what it is called, a copyright line, sometimes the maker and model of a device or the name of whoever built it. The summary quotes those words so that nobody mistakes the profile for an empty block. If the profile cannot be read to the end, the summary says that instead.
Maker notes shows as "present" rather than decoded. Each manufacturer formats that block privately, and it often includes a serial number, so treat its presence as a reason to clean.
Reading the full table
The Group column, printed in capitals, tells you which block a value came from:
- ifd0: the main image directory, with Make, Model, Software and ModifyDate.
- exif: capture settings and the original dates.
- gps: position, altitude, direction and GPS time.
- xmp: the XML packet editors write; it can repeat dates and locations under different names.
- iptc: captions, keywords, bylines and location names.
- png: text notes stored in PNG chunks.
- comment: free-text comments in JPEG files.
- icc: the color profile, with its description, copyright line, device names, the program that made it and its date.
- ifd1 and interop: the directory of the embedded preview and a small compatibility record.
- other: bytes that sit outside every block and outside the picture, for example behind a JPEG's JFIF header or after the end of a PNG. The row gives their size and any readable words among them.
A photo can hold more than one block of a kind: two XMP packets, several comments, a second EXIF block. Each one is read. The first block's values appear under the plain group name; a value from a later block that differs is listed under the name with that block's number, such as xmp-2 or comment-3. A value longer than 300 characters is cut short in the table.
The same fact can appear in more than one group. A city might be in IPTC while the coordinates sit in GPS. When you clean a photo with Everything, the EXIF, GPS, XMP, IPTC and PNG text groups are removed together, so you do not need to hunt them down one by one. The color profile is the exception: it stays, with whatever text it holds, and the result lists it.
If the Contains line mentions Content Credentials, the Content Credentials viewer can show who signed them and what they record.
Fields people rarely expect
A few tags surprise people the first time they look:
- Software often names the exact app and version that last saved the photo, including editing apps on a computer.
- HostComputer, in IFD0, can hold the name or model of the computer that processed the file.
- ImageUniqueID is a code some cameras assign to each capture. It does nothing for viewing but can tie copies of the same photo together.
- OwnerName, Artist and Copyright hold whatever name was typed into the camera's setup menu, sometimes years ago, and stamped on every photo since.
If any of these show up for your own photos, it is worth checking your camera or phone settings as well as cleaning the files.
What the viewer does not do
- It does not draw a map. Showing your coordinates on a map would mean asking a map server for tiles around that spot, which would tell a third party where the photo was taken. Copy the numbers into a map app yourself if you want to see the place.
- It does not edit or remove anything. When you are ready to clean, use remove EXIF data or, to keep the date and drop only the place, remove location from a photo.
- It does not look at the picture. The image data is never decoded, so a face or a sign in the photo is outside anything the viewer lists.
- It does not promise an empty file. "Nothing this tool checks for" means none of the blocks described on this page were found; the limits say what lies beyond them.
- It reads one file at a time and does not open videos, RAW files or Office documents. A photo whose structure it cannot follow is turned away too: a file cut off partway, a JPEG in arithmetic or hierarchical coding, a HEIC sequence or an animated AVIF.
Where your photo goes
The viewer opens the file inside this tab and reads its bytes. It produces no output file and keeps nothing after you choose another photo or close the page. The photo is not uploaded, and its metadata is not sent anywhere.
How the viewer reads tags
The page finds the metadata containers in the file's structure, such as the APP1 segment in a JPEG, the Exif and XMP items in a HEIC, or the chunks in PNG and WebP. EXIF values are decoded by exifr, an open-source parser, from the TIFF block the page extracts. XMP, IPTC, PNG text and the text of a color profile are read by the site's own code. The image itself is never decoded, so even a large photo opens quickly.
How the tools are built and tested, and how to confirm that no request leaves your browser, is covered on the methodology page.
FAQ
Does viewing the tags change the photo?
No. The viewer only reads. It does not write a new file, and the original keeps its date, name and contents.
Why does the viewer find almost nothing in my photo?
The photo may already have been processed by a service or app that re-saved it without metadata, or it may be a screenshot, which carries few tags. A photo straight from a camera or phone gallery usually shows much more.
Can I see the embedded thumbnail?
The table lists the tags around it, but the viewer does not display the thumbnail image. If you are worried it shows an older crop, cleaning with Everything removes the thumbnail stored in the EXIF block; Location only keeps a preview that is a plain picture and nothing else. A HEIC file can also hold its preview as a separate picture item of its own: that one stays in both modes, and the result lists it as left in the file.
Why do two dates in the table disagree?
ModifyDate changes when software saves the file, while DateTimeOriginal records the capture. GPS time is in UTC, while camera dates are usually local time. The photo date finder explains each source.
Can I check a photo someone sent me in a chat?
Yes, if you save it to your device first. What you see reflects the copy you received, which may differ from the sender's original.
Is it safe to open a photo from an unknown source here?
The page only parses metadata structures and never runs code from the file. As with any download, keep your browser up to date.
Sources
Checked 2026-10-11.
- Every EXIF tag ExifTool knows, with IDs and groups
- IPTC Photo Metadata User Guide
- ExifTool: geotagging and GPS time in UTC
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