Photo File Metadata Inspector

Why this reads file metadata, not camera EXIF data

Without a photo file selected, this tool shows 'Choose a photo file to inspect' -- once a file is chosen, it reports basic file-system metadata: file name, size, MIME type, and last-modified date, all information the browser can read directly from the file object itself.

This is fundamentally different from camera EXIF data (which includes details like GPS coordinates, camera make and model, lens information, ISO, aperture, and shutter speed) -- EXIF is metadata embedded within the actual image file's binary data by the camera or phone that took the photo, requiring a dedicated binary parser to extract, not something a browser's basic file API exposes.

File name, size, MIME type, and modified date are all things the browser's File API can read instantly without opening or parsing the image content at all -- which is why this tool can report them reliably and immediately, unlike EXIF data buried inside the file's actual encoded bytes.

Why the honesty about scope matters here specifically

Honest file metadata only. Camera EXIF (GPS, lens, ISO) is not decoded on this page. Many photos carry sensitive embedded EXIF data, most notably GPS coordinates showing exactly where a photo was taken -- a real EXIF-decoding tool needs to handle that sensitive data responsibly, and this page deliberately scopes itself to only the non-sensitive file-system metadata instead, rather than half-implementing GPS extraction.

A file's 'last modified' date reflects when the file itself was last saved or touched on whatever device or filesystem it currently resides on -- this isn't necessarily the same as when the photo was actually taken, since copying, editing, or re-saving a file can update its modified timestamp independent of the original capture time.

For actual EXIF decoding (GPS, camera model, lens, exposure settings), a dedicated EXIF-parsing library or tool that reads the image's embedded binary metadata block is needed -- this tool intentionally doesn't attempt that more complex parsing.

Related image-metadata and file tools

If camera sensor and lens crop-factor math is what you actually need (a related but distinct photography calculation from reading a specific photo's EXIF data), the Camera Sensor Crop Factor Calculator covers that separately.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)