Where it was taken. When. On what device. It's all written invisibly inside the file — and anyone you send it to can read it. MetaLume shows you everything, then wipes it in one click. Entirely on your Mac. Never in the cloud.
Every modern camera embeds an invisible record — called EXIF metadata — inside each image file. It never shows up on screen, it survives most sharing, and it takes about four seconds for anyone to extract.
For a typical iPhone photo, that record includes your GPS position to within a few meters, the precise second of capture, and the exact hardware that took it.
Pick a sample — or drop one of your own photos and watch its real hidden data appear. This page reads it the same way the app does: locally. Nothing you drop here leaves your machine.
Any JPG, PNG, HEIC, or TIFF. No account, no setup — the window is the whole interface.
Every hidden field, laid bare — GPS pin on an actual map, timestamps, device signature, file integrity check.
One click writes a pixel-identical copy with zero metadata. The original stays untouched.
MetaLume applies the same discipline used on professional evidence benches — then hides all of it behind one button.
The app has no internet connection to use. No telemetry, no analytics, no cloud, no account — it physically cannot phone home.
// sandboxed · zero third-party APIsExports keep the original resolution, color profile, and sharpness. Only the invisible payload is removed — never the pixels.
// native Apple ImageIO pipelineReads the file's true hex signature to catch impostors — like an executable renamed to .jpg — before you ever double-click it.
// header signature analysisSHA-256 fingerprints of the original and the clean copy, generated in real time — proof of exactly what changed and what didn't.
// chain-of-custody hashingEven filesystem dates can betray you. Exports get a neutral baseline timestamp instead of your real creation and modification times.
// unix flag reset on exportBuilt in Swift for macOS — no Electron shell, no bundled interpreters. It opens before your coffee hits the desk.
// Mac App Store sandboxed
MetaLume shows its work. Every inspection walks through the same concepts taught in computer-science and digital-forensics courses — demonstrated on your own photos.
Every camera writes a hidden record in standardized EXIF and TIFF fields. Inspecting real photos shows exactly what gets stored, where it lives inside the file, and why it survives sharing.
// GPSLatitude · DateTimeOriginal · LensModel · OwnerNameAn extension is just a label — the first bytes of a file tell the truth. MetaLume reads these magic bytes the way forensic scanners do, catching files that pretend to be something they're not.
// FF D8 FF → JPEG · 89 50 4E 47 → PNGA SHA-256 hash gives every file a unique fingerprint. Change a single byte and the fingerprint changes completely — the principle behind evidence integrity and chain of custody.
// 1 byte changed → 100% new fingerprintNo subscription, no tiers, no "premium plus". Inspecting is free forever; a single $1.99 purchase unlocks scrubbing for life.
When the job outgrows a single image — legal discovery, forensic casework, whole directories of mixed documents — our flagship MetaWrite takes over: 50+ formats, batch pipelines, full tag authoring, and court-ready compliance certificates.
Same zero-telemetry engineering. Considerably bigger toolbox.
Explore MetaWrite ↗| Capability | MetaLume | MetaWrite |
|---|---|---|
| workload | Photos & images | Enterprise documents |
| formats | JPG · PNG · HEIC · TIFF | 50+ (PDF, DOCX, video, audio) |
| processing | Single drag & drop | Infinite batch directories |
| actions | Wipe / delete only | Add, edit & delete tags |
| integrations | Standalone app | Share & Photos extensions |
| compliance | Local history | PDF forensic certificates |
Free to download. Free to inspect forever. $1.99 — once — if you want the scrub button too.
Download on the Mac App Store