AI metadata removers all promise to "clean" an image, but they work very differently. Some never upload your file, others process it on their server. Some show you who signed an image's Content Credentials, others only tell you "AI detected". Some are free with no limits, others charge per image.
We compared seven tools on the things that matter when you choose one: supported formats, the free limit, batch size, whether the image leaves your device, how much they read from C2PA Content Credentials, and price.
Checked on October 20, 2026, on each tool's own pages. Where a page did not say something (for example a batch limit), we read the site's public page code and say so. Prices and limits change, so check the tool's site before you rely on a number.
Disclosure: we make Remove AI Metadata, one of the seven tools. We have tried to describe every tool, including ours, by what it actually does, and to say where others are better.
The short answer
- You want the most control, for free, and don't mind a command line: ExifTool. It reads and edits almost every format, processes whole folders and never touches the image data.
- You want to see what an image contains, including who signed its Content Credentials, before you remove anything, without uploading it: Remove AI Metadata.
- You need to clean videos, PDFs or RAW files, or want an API: aimetadatacleaner.com (paid plans) or ExifTool.
- You want free batches in the browser: removeailabel.com (30 per batch) or ExifTool. deletefootprints.ai is free too, but it uploads your images to its server.
- You only want to remove C2PA and keep everything else, such as camera EXIF: unmadewithai.com or ExifTool with
-jumbf:all=.
Fact table
| Tool | Formats | Free limit | Batch size | Local or upload | C2PA signature reading | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remove AI Metadata | JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC and other images the browser can open; exports JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF | Inspecting is free and unlimited; 2 cleaned images without an account, +2 with a free account | 1 per run; up to 50 with a Credit Pack or Pro; 50 MB per image | In the browser; only the number of images is sent, to count credits | Yes: signer (issuer), the app that made the record, and whether it validates | Credit Pack from $4.99 (50 credits, one-time); Pro from $7.99/month or $59.99/year |
| aimetadatacleaner.com | JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC; video, PDF and RAW with an account | 3 images a day without an account, 10 a day with a free account (10 MB each) | 1 at a time free; 10 with Pro; 50 with Business | Images in the browser; video, PDF, RAW and API files on its server in Germany, deleted after download or 15 min | Shows the issuer of the credentials it removed; no validation result shown | Pro $10/month or $99/year; Business (API, MCP) $49/month or $449/year |
| removeailabel.com * | JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC; not GIF | Unlimited, no account | 30 per batch, 15 MB per file | In the browser | Read-only list of C2PA, XMP and EXIF blocks; no signer or validation shown | Free (ads) |
| deletefootprints.ai | JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, HEIC | No limit stated, no account | 5 per run, 100 MB in total | Uploaded to its server in the US; files deleted within 30 minutes | Shows the app that made the record, its actions and a present/invalid status; no signer | Free (ads); no paid plan listed |
| unmadewithai.com | PNG, JPEG, WebP | Free, no limit stated | Several files at once, downloaded one by one | In the browser | Only an "AI detected" badge | Free |
| noc2pa.com | PNG and WebP in; always JPG out | Free, no limit stated | 1 at a time | In the browser | None; it points you to an outside checker | Free (ads) |
| ExifTool | Almost every image, video and document format, including JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, AVIF, RAW | Free and open source | Whole folders, including subfolders | On your own computer | Reads the raw C2PA data, including the signature; does not validate it | Free |
* removeailabel.com blocked our connection on October 20, 2026, so its row comes from its own page as archived on September 25, 2026. Check the live site before relying on it.
Each tool in a few lines
Remove AI Metadata
A browser-based image metadata inspector and privacy cleaner. Adding an image shows everything the scanner finds: GPS location, EXIF camera data, XMP and IPTC fields, Stable Diffusion and ComfyUI prompts in PNG files, AI tags and C2PA Content Credentials, read with the Content Authenticity Initiative's open-source library. You see the signer, the app that created the record and whether it validates. Cleaning happens on your device, in one of two modes: Lossless strip for PNG and JPEG keeps the image data as it is, and Redraw (the default) writes a new JPEG, PNG, WebP or AVIF file; by default Redraw also adds a slight, invisible pixel variation, which you can turn down or off. Every output is rescanned and shown with SHA-256 hashes before and after. The site is in 14 languages.
Where others are better: after the first free images, cleaning costs credits (inspecting stays free); batches need paid credits (a Credit Pack or Pro); there is no video, PDF or RAW support and no API; and the page needs an internet connection to check credits when you clean.
aimetadatacleaner.com
The broadest paid service here. Images are cleaned in the browser, and paid accounts can also clean video, PDF and RAW files, which are processed on its server in Germany. Business adds an API and an MCP server for AI assistants. It has an optional lossless "preserve original quality" mode and a report on every image. By default it redraws images with small changes so that old copies can't be matched to the new file. Its FAQ is clear that it cannot remove an invisible watermark such as SynthID.
Limits: the free tier is 3 images a day without an account, one at a time, and 10 MB per image; the site is in English only.
removeailabel.com
On the copy we could read, the most generous free tool in the browser: no account, no stated limit and batches of 30 images up to 15 MB each. It has a read-only checker that lists the metadata blocks in a file, separate tools for PDF, video and HEIC, and pages in 32 languages. One option writes placeholder camera EXIF into JPEG files after cleaning. We would leave that off, because it adds camera data that isn't true.
Limits: its checker does not show who signed the Content Credentials or whether they validate, and the site shows ads.
deletefootprints.ai
A free toolbox with a metadata viewer, a metadata editor, a geotagging tool and an AI text cleaner, in 26 languages. It strips metadata without re-encoding the image, so the pixels stay the same. Its FAQ says plainly that cleaning cannot reach SynthID.
Limits: images are uploaded to its server in the US and deleted within 30 minutes, which may matter for private photos. Batches are 5 images and 100 MB in total. Its own FAQ says it has no automated proof yet that C2PA is removed from HEIC files.
unmadewithai.com
A simple, free page that removes only the C2PA container from PNG, JPEG and WebP files, byte for byte, without changing the image. That is useful if you want to keep the rest of the metadata.
Limits: for the same reason, EXIF, GPS, XMP and PNG text (including AI prompts) stay in the file. Its only readout is an "AI detected" badge, and the page looks unmaintained (its copyright line still says 2024).
noc2pa.com
The simplest tool here: one PNG or WebP image at a time, redrawn in the browser and saved as a JPG, with an option to keep the original file name.
Limits: because it always saves a JPG, transparency is lost and the image is re-compressed. It doesn't show what was in the file; it sends you to the Content Credentials Verify site for that.
ExifTool
The reference tool for metadata: free, open source and available for Windows, macOS and Linux (version 13.59 at the time of writing; 13.55 is the latest production release). It reads and writes metadata in almost every format, processes whole folders, edits metadata as well as removing it, and never changes the image data. It reads C2PA (stored in JUMBF boxes) and can delete it, but it does not check whether a signature is valid. Several free graphical front ends exist.
Limits: it is a command-line tool, so it takes some learning, and it keeps a backup copy of every file unless you tell it not to. We compare it with Remove AI Metadata in detail in Remove AI Metadata vs ExifTool.
What none of these tools can do
- Remove invisible watermarks. Google SynthID sits in the pixels of images from Google's Gemini app and, since May 2026, of images OpenAI generates in ChatGPT. TikTok began rolling out its own invisible watermark in November 2025. No metadata tool removes these. Some of these sites use phrases like "remove AI detection", but aimetadatacleaner, deletefootprints and removeailabel each say plainly in their own FAQs that pixel watermarks stay.
- Remove visible watermarks. Logos and text drawn on the image are part of the picture.
- Guarantee a platform won't label your image. Instagram, Facebook and Threads label images when they find C2PA or IPTC AI signals or when you disclose AI yourself. Removing metadata takes away the most common trigger, but platforms can also read watermarks or run their own detection. Our Instagram guide explains how to find out what triggered a label.
- Change what the law requires. If you publish a realistic AI image of a real person, place or event, the EU AI Act and several platforms' rules require you to disclose it, whatever the file's metadata says. See our responsible use page.
How we checked
We read each tool's homepage, pricing, FAQ, privacy and terms pages on October 20, 2026. For details a page didn't state (batch caps, which C2PA fields are shown), we read the site's public page code, and the table says what the code does. We did not upload images to the tools that process files on a server. removeailabel.com blocked our connection, so its row uses its own page as archived on September 25, 2026. If you spot a mistake, email support@removeaimetadata.com and we will correct it.
