The metadata families, explained
The camera standard: make, model, lens, exposure, timestamps and GPS. Written at capture; typically replaced when an editor re-saves.
Adobe's extensible standard. Carries editing history (software agents), document IDs for lineage tracking, titles, creator and rights fields.
Press and publishing metadata: captions, credits, source, and the digital-source-type declaration used to label AI-generated media.
Coordinates embedded by phones and some cameras — often the most sensitive field in the file. PictureMatters also shows an approximate place name.
Not metadata in the classic sense, but just as revealing: which segments and chunks exist, their sizes, and whether data rides after the image ends.
Size, format, resolution, SHA-256 and a perceptual fingerprint — the identity layer that never depends on metadata surviving.
How PictureMatters analyzes metadata
The analyzer walks the file's real container — JPEG APP segments, PNG chunks, WebP RIFF boxes — and decodes the metadata records inside them, byte by byte, with no dependency on the filename or extension. EXIF is read from its APP1 segment; XMP and IPTC from theirs. Findings are grouped into cards — camera, location, XMP identity, strings, structure, hashes — and each card separates recorded facts from interpretive signals. The Methodology page documents every layer.
Because platforms strip metadata aggressively, the report also grades metadata survival — how much useful context remains — so you know whether a quiet report means "never had metadata" or "had it and lost it." The WhatsApp and Instagram guides cover the two most common stripping paths.
What the metadata viewer will not tell you
- Metadata proves what the file claims, not what happened. Claims can be edited.
- An empty report rarely means "fake" — it usually means a platform or editor removed the data.
- Fields like date and author are only as trustworthy as whoever last saved the file.
Frequently asked questions
What metadata types does PictureMatters read?
EXIF camera and GPS records, XMP identity and workflow fields, IPTC declarations, container structure (JPEG segments, PNG chunks, WebP RIFF boxes), strings, entropy, hashes and compression data.
Does the metadata viewer work on my phone?
Yes. It is a web tool — works in mobile browsers, including iPhone HEIC photos, which are converted to JPG in your browser before analysis.
Is my photo uploaded to a server?
To analyze it, yes — in 512 KB chunks to a temporary folder, deleted immediately after the report is built. Preflight facts (dimensions, SHA-256, entropy preview) are calculated in your browser before anything is sent. See Security for details.
Why does my photo have no metadata at all?
Most commonly it was stripped by a messaging or social app, saved by an editor without metadata, or it never had any (screenshots). Absence is normal and expected — not evidence of anything.