About MetaScrub

MetaScrub is a small set of tools for inspecting and removing hidden metadata from photos and documents. Everything runs in your browser. Files are never uploaded, and there is no account to create.

Why it exists

Most online metadata removers work by uploading your file to a server, processing it there, and sending back a download. If you are stripping metadata because a file is sensitive, that is a strange trade — you have handed the file to an operator you know nothing about in order to protect it.

Browsers have been able to read and rewrite binary files locally for years. There is no technical reason this work needs a server, so MetaScrub does it on your device instead.

How to verify the claim

Do not take it on trust. Two checks take under a minute:

• Open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab, and process a file. No upload request appears.
• Load the page, disconnect from the internet, and process a file. It still works.

What the tools do

• Photo metadata remover — reads EXIF, XMP and IPTC blocks from JPEG, PNG and WebP files, shows you what is stored, and removes it. The removal is lossless: metadata segments are cut from the container while the compressed image data is copied through unchanged, so there is no re-encoding and no quality loss.
• PDF metadata remover — reads the document information dictionary, clears it, and deletes the XMP packet attached to the document catalog. Page content is untouched.
• HEIC to JPG converter — decodes iPhone HEIC and HEIF photos and re-saves them as ordinary JPG or PNG files, entirely in the browser. The decoder is bundled with the page, so the photo is never sent to a server.

What they do not do

Being clear about limits matters more than sounding reassuring:

• Visible content in an image or on a page is never modified. Metadata removal is not redaction.
• Filenames are not touched.
• The metadata remover does not read RAW or DNG files; export to JPEG first. For iPhone HEIC photos, use the HEIC to JPG converter.
• Modifying a digitally signed PDF invalidates the signature. That is by design.

Who runs this

MetaScrub is built and maintained by Ziya Abdullayev, based in Baku, Azerbaijan. My background is in cybersecurity, and this started as a tool I wanted for myself: a way to check what a photo or PDF was leaking without handing the file to a random website first. If it is useful to you too, that is the point.

How it is funded

The site is supported by advertising on the surrounding pages. Because all processing happens locally, serving a visitor costs nothing beyond static hosting, which is why there is no paywall, no file limit and no account requirement.

Contact

Corrections, bug reports and suggestions are welcome — particularly reports of a file that is handled incorrectly.

Email: ziya.abdullayev630@gmail.com