ExifTool
ExifTool reads, writes and edits metadata in a very wide range of file types, such as images, PDFs and Office documents.
Legal & ethical use. Use this tool only on systems, networks and data that you own or have explicit written permission to test. Unauthorised access or scanning can break computer-misuse laws (for example Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and equivalents elsewhere). Practise in your own lab or in authorised environments such as CTFs.
What it is used for
- See what location or camera data your own photos reveal before sharing them
- Extract metadata from evidence files in an exercise
Key features
- Supports hundreds of formats
- Read and write metadata
- Batch processing
Installation
Download from exiftool.org or install from your distribution (`sudo apt install libimage-exiftool-perl`).
Beginner usage guide
Run it on a file and read the tags; look for author, software, timestamps and GPS fields.
Example commands
Run these only against your own lab or authorised targets. Placeholder addresses such as 192.0.2.x are documentation ranges.
Show all metadata
exiftool photo.jpgPrints every tag it can read from the file.
Remove metadata before sharing (keeps a backup)
exiftool -all= photo.jpgStrips writable metadata; ExifTool saves the original as photo.jpg_original.
Keep learning
🚩 Practice challenge: Metadata Detective easy
References
Source verification
Last reviewed: 2026-10-27
Links checked over HTTP: 2026-10-27 07:51 UTC — official: 200, docs: 200, repo: 200
Command flags checked against the real binary exiftool (13.55) on 2026-10-27.