Metadata Removal & Image Quality
Supported cleaning paths remove or rewrite container metadata without recompressing encoded image data. This byte-preservation claim does not guarantee identical rendering in every viewer.
No Recompression: Encoded Image Data Retention
Standard image editors open an image, decode compressed pixels into memory, remove tags, and re-encode the pixels as a new JPEG. Every recompression introduces generational loss and compression artifacts.
Our cleaner never decodes or re-compresses pixel data. In JPEG files, the compressed Huffman scan stream (from SOS to EOI) is copied byte-for-byte. In PNG files, the raw IDAT pixel chunks are preserved identically.
Orientation-Safe EXIF Handling
Photos taken in portrait orientation often rely on the EXIF Orientation tag to display right-side up. Stripping all EXIF tags naively would cause portrait photos to rotate sideways.
When orientation is required for visual presentation, our cleaner writes a minimal, privacy-cleared EXIF block containing solely the single Orientation tag—with zero camera serials, timestamps, or GPS data.
Color Space & ICC Profile Retention
Color profiles (ICC) define how RGB values are interpreted for display. Removing an ICC profile from a wide-gamut image can change its color appearance.
Our cleaning policy preserves validated ICC profile sequences and Adobe APP14 markers where supported. This can help retain color-profile information, but the final appearance depends on the viewer and display.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will my photo lose resolution or sharpness? A: Supported JPEG and PNG cleaning paths preserve the encoded image payload byte-for-byte. This does not guarantee identical rendering in every viewer because retained metadata and viewer behavior can affect display.
Q: Why did my cleaned photo rotate? A: If a file contains conflicting rotation tags across different metadata containers, cleaning is refused to prevent guessing incorrectly.
Understand what the format checks preserve
Supported image bitstreams are not recompressed; this does not guarantee identical rendering in every viewer.