67.4 Photo Metadata

20220403

Metadata is stored for photos within an image (and video) file and can be displayed with some image viewing apps. jpg images have EXIF (exchangeable image file format) formatted metadata. gif images do not have EXIF data but do have metadata through comment tags and embedded XMP metadata/tags. See Section 67.9 to remove potentially private data from a photo.

Using exiftool, exiftool, exiftool you can extract all of the photo’s metadata. This includes the resolution of the photo, focal length, exposure time and F number, but also location, camera details, and other potentially private information. See Section 79.16 for a discussion of the privacy issues of photo metadata, like location, make and model of the camera, and the date and time of the photo.

To list the metadata use exiftool.

exiftool myphoto.jpg

We see a subset of the available data below.

ExifTool Version Number         : 11.65
File Name                       : 20200218_092410_00.jpg
File Modification Date/Time     : 2020:02:18 09:24:14+11:00
File Access Date/Time           : 2020:04:11 09:00:31+10:00
File Inode Change Date/Time     : 2020:04:11 09:40:25+10:00
File Permissions                : rw-r-----
File Type                       : JPEG
File Type Extension             : jpg
MIME Type                       : image/jpeg
Make                            : Google
Camera Model Name               : Pixel 4
Orientation                     : Rotate 180
X Resolution                    : 72
Y Resolution                    : 72
Modify Date                     : 2020:02:18 09:24:10
Y Cb Cr Positioning             : Centered
Exposure Time                   : 1/24
F Number                        : 1.8
Exif Version                    : 0231
Date/Time Original              : 2020:02:18 09:24:10
Create Date                     : 2020:02:18 09:24:10
Offset Time                     : +11:00
Image Width                     : 4032
Image Height                    : 3024
GPS Altitude                    : 0 m Above Sea Level
GPS Date/Time                   : 2020:02:18 03:24:08Z
GPS Latitude                    : 27 deg 36' 42.90" N
GPS Longitude                   : 78 deg 3' 37.10" E
GPS Position                    : 27 deg 18' 42.63" N, 34 deg 0'
Megapixels                      : 12.2
Create Date                     : 2020:02:18 09:24:10.028893+11:00

Many photo sharing sites and apps, including WhatsApp, strip location and other personal meta data from photos as they are shared.



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