EXIF Magic vs ExifTool

EXIF Magic reads photo metadata, explains what it can reveal and lets users remove or rewrite it. The app identifies 128 fields across EXIF, TIFF, IPTC, GPS and manufacturer notes. Its plain-language summary can point out details such as GPS coordinates, device serial number, camera model, capture date and author. Users can clear all metadata, remove location information or choose groups to remove. They can also clean a photo and add a location by map, place name, address, ZIP code or coordinates. The app copies compressed image data without decoding and re-encoding it, preserving the image data, dimensions and colour profile. Each export is checked again, and saving is refused if sensitive metadata remains. Processing is on-device; the maker says there are no servers, network code or uploads. The free download has no in-app purchases, subscription or account. It is listed for Android, iOS and macOS. Replacing an original is limited to photos selected from the photo library and requires full library access.

ExifTool is a free Perl library and command-line application for reading, writing and editing metadata in many file types. It can read tags, change or delete their values, and copy or move metadata between files. Supported formats include EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP, JFIF, GeoTIFF, ICC Profile, Photoshop IRB, FlashPix, AFCP and ID3, as well as maker notes from numerous camera manufacturers. Sources can be file names, directory names or standard input. ExifTool is available for Linux, macOS and Windows; its Perl distribution can be run by extracting it on Mac or Linux, and the Windows EXE version can also be extracted. A C++ interface lets applications communicate with an external ExifTool process. When writing metadata, ExifTool preserves the original file by adding “_original” to its name by default, and it will not write a metadata type unsupported by the target format. The maker says it is not designed as an image validator, though its extra validation checks focus mainly on JPEG and TIFF. The full Perl distribution includes documentation and API libraries. ExifTool costs nothing.