What Is EXIF Data? A Plain-English Guide
EXIF data records the camera, settings, date and often the location of every photo. What it contains, which files use it, and how to view, edit or remove it.
More from this article
- EXIF data is the set of details a camera or phone writes into every photo it saves: the device, the settings, the date and often the place. It is useful for organising pictures and learning from your own shots, and it is also one of the most common ways people share their location without realising it. Here is what it contains, which files use it, and how to view, edit or remove it.
- What EXIF stands for
- EXIF is short for Exchangeable Image File Format. The standard was first published in 1995 by the Japanese electronics industry and is maintained today by CIPA, the Camera & Imaging Products Association, together with JEITA. Its latest major version, EXIF 3.0, added UTF-8 text, so names and captions in any language can be stored properly.
- What it records
- The fields fall into a few groups:
- A typical phone photo carries dozens of these fields, written automatically every time the shutter fires.
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