Remove Author and Copyright From Image Metadata

JPEG and PNG files can embed author, copyright, and creator strings in EXIF and XMP blocks — separate from visible watermarks. When you remove author from image metadata before stock submission, client delivery, or anonymous posting, you avoid leaking studio names or personal credit lines unintentionally.

MetadataWipe processes JPEG and PNG locally in your browser, removing typical embedded tags while leaving pixels unchanged aside from re-encoding. Review the metadata panel, export a cleaned copy, and attach the file you intend to publish.

How to use MetadataWipe in 3 steps

1. Open the tool. Go to the MetadataWipe homepage and select a JPEG or PNG from your device, or drag and drop the file into the workspace.
2. Review and remove metadata. MetadataWipe scans for common metadata markers, then creates a clean browser-generated copy by drawing the image to a canvas and exporting a new file.
3. Download and verify. Save the cleaned file (named with -metadatawipe before the extension). Re-open it in the tool or a trusted viewer to confirm sensitive tags are gone before you share.

About Remove Author From Image Metadata

Camera apps, Lightroom exports, and Photoshop saves often write Artist, Copyright, and Software tags automatically. Marketplaces and press rooms may reject files with conflicting credit metadata. Anyone downloading the original can read these strings with free inspectors.

Visible watermarks and invisible metadata are separate problems — you may need both removed for anonymous shares. MetadataWipe handles embedded tags on JPEG/PNG; use image editing tools for visible logo removal.

After cleaning, re-open the export in MetadataWipe or a trusted viewer to confirm author fields are empty. For rights-managed photography, keep an internal master with full IPTC intact in private archives while distributing cleaned copies publicly.

Author strings hiding in EXIF, IPTC, and XMP

Credit can live in the file even when the picture has no watermark. Cameras and catalogs write Artist and Copyright in EXIF. News and stock workflows add IPTC By-line, By-line Title, Credit, Source, and Writer-Editor. Adobe-style saves add XMP dc:creator, photoshop:AuthorsPosition, and sometimes a contact URL. OwnerName and a photographer’s email appear in some phone and drone dumps. Anyone with a free inspector can read those fields from the JPEG or PNG you send. Removing author metadata is about those strings, not about erasing copyright as a legal fact. The law does not live in the tag; the tag is just a leak of studio, freelancer, or personal identity you may not want on this particular copy.

MetadataWipe is a browser photo tool. It re-encodes JPEG and PNG locally (no server upload) and drops typical embedded blocks in the export. It does not open Word documents or PDFs, and it does not scrape a visible signature from the pixels. If a logo is painted into the image, you still need an editor. If the byline is only in IPTC, the canvas export is the right layer. Keep an archival master with full IPTC for your own records; distribute the cleaned copy when the recipient should not see your name in Properties.

PNG is not exempt. Export-from-Photoshop PNG can carry tEXt or iTXt chunks with Author or Software. Some “Save for Web” paths strip them; some do not. Run the actual PNG through the tool instead of assuming the export preset was enough. TIFF and RAW wrappers are out of scope for the current homepage tool—make a JPEG or PNG share copy, then strip author tags from that copy.

How to strip creator tags on the MetadataWipe homepage

Work from the file you intend to deliver, not from a catalog preview that will be re-exported later with templates turned on.

1. Go to the MetadataWipe homepage and open the JPEG or PNG. Drag-and-drop is fine; bytes stay in the tab.
2. Read the metadata panel for Artist, Copyright, creator, and software strings. Note anything that names a person, a studio, or a personal email.
3. Clean the file. The tool draws the pixels to a canvas and writes a new image without copying those typical blocks into the download.
4. Save the -metadatawipe copy. Re-load it and confirm author fields no longer list a name. If a viewer still shows a creator, you are looking at a different file or a viewer cache—open the export from disk again.
5. Attach that export. Leave the IPTC-rich master in private storage if you still need chain-of-title notes internally.

Removing tags does not transfer or void copyright. It only stops the share copy from advertising a creator string. For rights-managed work, your contract and watermark policy still apply; this pass is for identity hygiene on the bytes.

Deliveries where credit metadata backfires

A stock or marketplace submission with a conflicting studio line. Your Lightroom template still says last year’s employer. The portal reads Artist and rejects the file or attributes it to the wrong entity. Strip the stale byline locally, then apply only the credit the marketplace requires in their form—not by re-exporting from a template that rewrites EXIF.

Anonymous or sensitive documentary stills. A journalist or NGO worker may need the photo public without a personal name in XMP. Visible faces are a separate ethics problem. For the file header, clean JPEG/PNG on the device so a download does not reveal dc:creator.

A freelance handoff the client will republish. The client asked for an anonymous product shot. Your export still has Copyright “Jane Doe Photography” and a URL. They will look sloppy or leak your identity into their CMS. Clean the delivery JPEG; keep your named master for invoices.

Author-cleaning mistakes that put the name back

Deleting a watermark and calling metadata done. Pixels and tags are independent. A clean-looking image can still carry Artist. Inspect the export.

Cleaning, then “saving again” from Lightroom with a copyright preset. The preset is designed to write IPTC on every export. Either disable it for this copy or run MetadataWipe on the file that actually leaves.

Sending PNG from a messenger that re-wraps the original. Some apps attach the camera original alongside a preview. Confirm the attachment is the cleaned download.

Thinking a PDF proof is covered. MetadataWipe does not sanitize PDF Author properties. Flatten or sanitize the PDF in a PDF-aware tool; use this homepage for the image files inside the job.

Related guides

Start with our core remove EXIF data guide, then explore:

• Remove Photographer Info From Image
• Remove Camera Model From Photo
• Remove Device Info From Image