EXIF Viewer
View EXIF tags embedded in JPEG and other images.
Overview
The EXIF Viewer parses the metadata embedded in a photograph and presents it as a clean table — camera make and model, lens information, exposure settings, GPS coordinates, software fingerprints and timestamps. Upload a JPEG, TIFF or HEIC and the parser walks every Image File Directory and decodes each tag against the EXIF specification.
Photographers reach for this when auditing their shoot data, journalists when verifying the origin of a leaked photo, and privacy-conscious users when checking what an image discloses before they hit publish. It is also the diagnostic step before deciding whether to run the EXIF Stripper.
How it works
EXIF metadata is stored inside an APP1 segment in a JPEG (or in equivalent containers in TIFF and HEIC). Inside that segment is a TIFF-style structure: a byte-order marker, a pointer to the first Image File Directory (IFD), and a chain of IFDs containing tagged entries. Each entry is a four-tuple of tag id, data type, count, and either an inline value or an offset to a value elsewhere in the segment.
The viewer walks IFD0 (image metadata), IFD1 (thumbnail), the EXIF SubIFD (camera settings), the GPS IFD and any maker-specific notes. Rational numbers (exposure time 1/250 is stored as numerator 1, denominator 250) are formatted into human-friendly strings, and GPS rationals are converted from degree-minute-second to decimal latitude/longitude.
Examples
camera.jpg →
Make: Sony
Model: ILCE-7M4
LensModel: FE 35mm F1.4 GM
FNumber: f/2.8
ExposureTime: 1/500 s
ISO: 400
DateTimeOriginal: 2025-09-14 17:32:11
GPS: 48.8584° N, 2.2945° E
Software: Adobe Lightroom 13.4
FAQ
Why does my screenshot have no EXIF?
Operating-system screenshots write only minimal headers — there's no camera to record settings from. PNGs use tEXt or iTXt chunks rather than EXIF.
Can the viewer expose GPS coordinates?
Yes — if the photo's GPSInfo IFD is populated, latitude, longitude, altitude and timestamp are all decoded. Strip them with the EXIF Stripper before sharing publicly.
Does it read maker notes?
Common Canon, Nikon, Sony and Fujifilm maker-note tags are surfaced where the structure is documented. Encrypted or undocumented blocks are shown as raw byte counts.
Why are some timestamps in local time and others in UTC?
DateTimeOriginal is recorded in the camera's local clock without a timezone. OffsetTime and OffsetTimeOriginal (if present) supply the offset, which the viewer uses to compute UTC when available.
Are TIFF tags supported?
Yes — the TIFF and EXIF tag dictionaries overlap heavily, and the viewer uses both reference tables to decode entries.