en	[[!meta title="Removing metadata from files"]]

en	[[!toc levels=1]]

en	What is metadata?

en	Metadata is "data about data" or "information about information" that is embedded in computer files, usually automatically. Metadata is used to describe, identify, categorize, and sort files.

en	However, metadata can also be used to deanonymize users and expose private information.

en	Examples of metadata include:

en	In images:

en	The location where a photo was taken

en	The date and time a photo was taken

en	The model and serial number of the camera used to take a photo

en	In other documents:

en	The author of the document

en	Changes to the document

en	To learn more about how metadata can be used to identify and reveal personal information, see [Behind the Data: Investigating metadata](https://exposingtheinvisible.org/en/guides/behind-the-data-metadata-investigations/).

en	Removing metadata using *Metadata Cleaner*

en	Tails includes [*Metadata Cleaner*](https://gitlab.com/metadatacleaner/metadatacleaner) so you can remove metadata from files before you publish or share them.

en	<div class="tip">
tr	<div class="caution">

en	If, instead of cleaning your own files, you want to sanitize untrusted documents shared with you by others, you can install [[Dangerzone|persistent_storage/additional_software/dangerzone]] as additional software.

en	</div>

en	*Metadata Cleaner* works on many file formats, including:

en	Images, such as .jpg, .gif, .svg, .tiff, and .png

en	*Microsoft Office* documents, such as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx

en	*LibreOffice* documents, such as .odt and .ods

en	Audio files, such as .mp3, .flac, and .ogg

en	Video files, such as .mp4 and .avi

en	Archive files, such as .zip and .tar

en	PDFs

en	To open *Metadata Cleaner*, choose **Apps&nbsp;▸ Accessories&nbsp;▸ Metadata Cleaner**.

en	<div class="caution">

en	It is impossible to reliably find and remove all metadata in complex file formats. For example, Microsoft Office documents can contain embedded images, audio, and other files containing their own metadata that Tails cannot remove.

en	You should remove metadata on any files before you embed them into another document.

en	Also, you should save files in simpler formats whenever possible. For example, instead of saving a text document as a .docx file, you can save the document as a plain .txt file.

en	Removing metadata from the command line

en	*Metadata Cleaner* is a graphical interface for [*mat2*](https://0xacab.org/jvoisin/mat2).

en	You can also use *mat2* directly on the command line:

en	Open a *Console*.

en	Execute the following command. Replace file.ext with a path to the file that you want to clean.

en	mat2 file.ext

en	After *mat2* finishes, a copy of your file without metadata is available as file.cleaned.ext.