Metadata Viewer — Inspect Hidden File Data
See exactly what metadata is embedded in your JPEG, PNG, WebP, MP4, and PDF files. Verify titles, EXIF, IPTC, XMP, and document properties in seconds.
Open the tool →What the metadata viewer shows
The metadata viewer reads embedded metadata directly from your files and displays every field it finds. For JPEG, it parses EXIF segments, IPTC records, and XMP packets. For PNG, it reads tEXt and iTXt chunks. For WebP, it inspects RIFF EXIF and XMP chunks. For MP4, it walks the moov/udta/meta atom tree. For PDF, it reads the info dictionary plus XMP. Everything is shown alongside the field name so you can immediately see what is or is not present.
When to use the viewer before editing
Run files through the viewer before you edit, before you publish, and before you share. Editing without inspecting means you might overwrite useful existing metadata. Publishing without inspecting means you might ship the wrong title or stale keywords. Sharing without inspecting can leak private fields like GPS coordinates, camera serial numbers, or author email addresses embedded by editing software. The viewer is your sanity-check step in every metadata workflow.
Privacy-sensitive fields to look for
GPS coordinates (EXIF GPSLatitude/GPSLongitude) reveal where the photo was taken. Camera serial numbers (EXIF BodySerialNumber) identify the device. The author and creator fields can expose internal names from your editing software. Software field shows what app produced the file. If any of these are present and you do not want them shared, run the file through the metadata remover to strip everything, then re-inject only the metadata you want using the bulk editor.
Reading EXIF data
EXIF is the most common metadata standard for cameras and images. Common fields include ImageDescription (what the image shows), Artist (photographer), Copyright (rights holder), DateTime (when the image was created), UserComment (free-form notes), and the GPS block. Read more about EXIF in our EXIF data explained guide.
Reading IPTC and XMP
IPTC is journalism-focused metadata used by newsrooms, stock agencies, and editorial systems. Common fields are caption, byline, copyright notice, keywords, and city. XMP is the modern, extensible format from Adobe that wraps EXIF and IPTC plus additional schemas like Photoshop Category, Iptc4xmpCore Location, and xmpDM (album, genre, comment). MediaMeta writes all three for maximum compatibility.
Reading PDF document properties
PDF metadata lives in the info dictionary at the start of the file. The viewer shows Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator (the tool that authored the document), and Producer (the tool that exported it). To learn how to write these fields into your own PDFs, see the PDF metadata guide.
Why the viewer runs entirely in your browser
Inspecting metadata should never require uploading sensitive files. The viewer parses everything client-side in JavaScript, so the bytes you read in the result panel come straight from your local drive — nothing crosses the network. This is true whether you are on desktop or mobile.
Next steps after viewing
Once you know what is in your files, decide what to do: enrich them with the bulk editor, strip private fields with the metadata remover, or simply confirm the file is ready to publish. If you want to learn what each format supports, browse our JPEG, PNG, WebP, MP4, and PDF guides.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the viewer work without internet?
- Yes, once the page is loaded. All parsing runs in browser JavaScript with no network calls per-file.
- Which formats does the viewer support?
- JPEG / JPG, PNG, WebP, MP4, and PDF. Other formats will be detected but may show "No metadata found" if their containers are not in the supported list.
- Why do some fields show as "Contains metadata" instead of the value?
- A few less-common container chunks (like WebP raw EXIF) are detected but not fully decoded in the viewer. The data is still inside the file — you can extract it with a desktop tool like ExifTool if needed.
Ready to apply this?
Use MediaMeta's browser-based tools — your files never leave your device.