About ScrubPhoto

ScrubPhoto is a free tool that removes hidden metadata from photos and videos before you post them. It runs entirely in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to a server, and there is no account to make.

Why ScrubPhoto exists

Photos carry more than pixels. A phone writes the GPS location, the camera model and its serial number, and the time down to the second. Editing apps add their own fields, and some add C2PA Content Credentials or IPTC fields that tell Instagram, Facebook or TikTok to show an AI label. That label lands on real photos too, after a small retouch in an app that happens to use generative tools.

Most tools that clean metadata do it by redrawing the image on a canvas and saving a new JPEG. That costs quality, and it flattens wide-gamut iPhone colors to sRGB. ScrubPhoto was built to do the job without touching the image: it cuts the metadata out of the file and copies the image data byte for byte.

How ScrubPhoto works

When you choose a file, ScrubPhoto reads its structure in your browser and lists what it found: Content Credentials and who signed them, the IPTC digital source type, XMP fields, EXIF camera data, GPS, PNG text from AI generators, and data hidden after the image. It then shows whether Instagram, TikTok and Facebook are likely to label the file, with the source for each rule.

Tap Scrub and it removes those parts. JPEG, PNG and WebP keep their exact pixels, their color profile and their orientation. MP4 and MOV videos keep every frame and the same file size, because the metadata boxes are blanked in place instead of being rebuilt. The test suite checks this on more than 80 test files, decoding each photo with an independent decoder to confirm the pixels match. The limits page lists what a metadata tool cannot change.

Who runs ScrubPhoto

ScrubPhoto is operated by BlackReef Marketing LLC. It is paid for by display ads once they are approved; the tool stays free and has no upload step to sell. The scrubbing code will be published as open source under the MIT license.

Questions, a file that scrubs wrongly, or a platform behavior that has changed: write to hello@scrubphoto.com. We cannot see your files, so describe what happened and which app made the file.