EXIF Manager | Harden System Security¶
The EXIF Manager is a privacy-focused feature integrated into the Harden System Security app under the Extras section. It allows you to deeply inspect, copy, and securely strip hidden metadata (EXIF, XMP, Comments, etc.) from your photos. It operates directly on the file's data chunks at the lowest level, strictly adhering to the official specs of each data model and photo format, ensuring that your privacy is protected without re-encoding the image or losing any visual quality.
How It Works¶
Digital photos often contain hidden information, such as the camera model, software used to modify them, exact GPS location, and timestamps. The EXIF Manager parses the internal structure of the image file, categorizing every piece of metadata.
When you choose to remove metadata, the app safely strips out privacy-leaking and unnecessary data segments while carefully preserving chunks that are required for 100% visual integrity (such as ICC Color Profiles, physical dimensions, and minimal EXIF headers required to maintain the correct image Orientation).
Supported Image Formats: .jpg, .jpeg, .png.
More will be added in the future.
Selecting an Image¶
To analyze a photo, you need to load it into the EXIF Manager interface.
- Browse Button: Click the Browse button in the toolbar to open a file picker and select your image.
- Drag & Drop: You can easily drag and drop a JPG/JPEG or PNG file directly into the app's main window to instantly load it. (Note: Drag & Drop is natively disabled by Windows when the app is running as Administrator).
- View Selected File: Click the arrow next to the Browse button to view the exact path of the currently loaded image or to clear the selection.
Viewing and Managing Metadata¶
Once an image is loaded, a preview thumbnail appears on the right, and the parsed metadata is displayed in a dynamic, categorized list on the left.
- Categorized View: Metadata is neatly organized into categories such as File Information, EXIF Metadata, XMP Metadata, Photoshop IRB, and more.
- Tag Counts: Each category header displays a badge indicating the exact number of metadata tags found within that specific section.
- Expand / Collapse: You can manually expand or collapse individual categories, or use the Expand All / Collapse All options located in the Actions drop-down menu to view everything at once.
Copying Metadata¶
If you need to save or share the metadata for analysis:
* Open the Actions drop-down menu and click Copy All, or simply press Ctrl + C on your keyboard.
* This will copy a beautifully formatted, plain-text summary of all parsed categories and their associated tags directly to your clipboard.
Removing Metadata¶
The EXIF Manager provides fine-grained control over what data gets removed. Note: Removing metadata will permanently overwrite the original file and cannot be undone.
1. Remove Specific Categories¶
If you only want to strip certain types of data (e.g., removing XMP Metadata but keeping EXIF Metadata), you can do so easily: * Look for the Remove button (with a red trash icon) on the right side of a category's header. * Clicking this button will instantly strip only that specific category of metadata from the file. * Note: Categories crucial for visual fidelity (like File Information or Image Headers) will not have a Remove button, as they are not safe to remove.
2. Remove All Metadata¶
To thoroughly sanitize the photo and remove all safe-to-remove metadata in one step:
* Open the Actions drop-down menu and select Remove All Metadata, or simply press the Delete key on your keyboard.
* A confirmation dialog will appear. Once confirmed, the app will scrub the file, reconstruct the necessary visual headers, and reload the sanitized file to show you the remaining, safe baseline data.