FFMPEG is an open source media management command-line tool available on many types of computer operating systems. It can be used to perform all kinds of edits one file at a time or in batch operations. Removing metadata is only one of its capabilities, but it is a good task to learn the program’s syntax and perform a basic operational security task.

Metadata is the information behind the scenes of a file. It is the stuff that tells other computers or people, the who, what, when, how, and why of an image. Such as time and location that a photo was taken. FFMPEG can remove this data so that basic information about your hardware and possible location are not available.

It is important to note however that metadata also tells programs how to display an image, removing it can impact the quality of an image, particularly in file formats that are known for loosing quality over time.

General Approach:

Preserving Specific Tags: If you need to keep certain tags (e.g., orientation), use a more selective approach with -map_metadata:

ffmpeg -i input.jpg -map_metadata 0:g -c:v copy output.jpg

    -map_metadata 0:g: Preserves global metadata like orientation.
Movies:
Use the same command, but specify the file format.
    ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -map_metadata -1 -c copy output.mp4

    -c copy: Copies all streams without re-encoding (preserves quality).
Advanced Options for Specific Metadata:
For more granular control over certain metadata types:
-movflags +faststart: Moves metadata to the beginning for faster online playback.
-metadata:s:v title="New Title": Sets a custom title for the video stream.
-metadata:s:a title="New Audio Title": Sets a custom title for the audio stream.
Visual Representation:
Key Points:
FFmpeg offers flexible ways to remove or modify EXIF data.
Use -map_metadata -1 to exclude all metadata.
Use -map_metadata with specific filters for selective removal.
Employ -c copy to preserve quality for images and movies.
Explore advanced options for more control over metadata types.