# How to remove metadata from a whole batch of images

Source: https://passreal.com/how-to/batch-metadata

For a folder, run ExifTool recursively with `exiftool -r -all= -o cleaned/ originals/`, which writes cleaned copies into a separate directory. Then audit the result with `exiftool -r -csv cleaned/ > audit.csv` and scan the table for leftover fields. Keep the originals until the audit is clean.

## Why a batch needs a plan

Cleaning one file by hand is simple. Cleaning two hundred is a different task,
because the failure you care about is quiet. One file with a leftover field is
easy to miss in a folder, and if the folder goes out as a set, that one file is
the one someone reads.

The plan has three parts: a source you never change, an output you can regenerate
and an audit that reads the output rather than trusting the command.

## Setting up the folders

Keep the originals in one place. Give the cleaned files a separate destination, so
that a mistake in the command costs a re-run and not a loss. This also lets you
compare a cleaned file with its original when something looks wrong.

ExifTool's `-o` option writes the result to a new location and leaves the source
alone. With `-r`, the tool recurses into subfolders. A command such as the one
in the answer above handles both and keeps the folder structure inside the output
directory, which helps when file names repeat between subfolders.

## Choosing what to remove

`-all=` clears every writable metadata group. That is the right setting when the
goal is a clean file. It also removes things you may want to keep, so decide that
first.

- Orientation. Without it, some pictures display rotated. Add it back with
  `-Orientation` in the same command, or rotate the pixels first.
- Color profile. The ICC profile controls how colors display. Leaving it out can
  shift colors, so keep it if the files will be used for print or color-critical
  work.
- Copyright. If you want your name to stay on the work, write it again after the
  removal, deliberately.

For files that came from an AI tool, add the JUMBF group, since a signed manifest
is stored there. The guide on
[how to remove C2PA](/how-to/remove-c2pa) covers that group in detail.

## Auditing the result

The audit is what separates a batch you can rely on from one you only hope is
clean. A recursive CSV dump gives one row per file and one column per tag, which
you can open in a spreadsheet and filter.

Look at three things. Columns that should be empty and are not: Software,
CreatorTool, Comment, any prompt or parameters field. Rows that differ from the
rest, which usually means one file came from a different source. And file types
that ExifTool listed but could not write, which it reports as warnings during the
run. Read those warnings. A format that was skipped is a file that was not
cleaned.

## When the files need pixel work too

Metadata removal is the first step only. If the goal also involves the pixels, as
with AI images that need sensor-style grain or a device profile, a tool that
processes them as a set saves effort. PassReal takes up to 20 images in a batch,
re-encodes each one and shows a report per file of the markers found before and
after, by family. That is a convenience, and the same discipline applies: look at
the report, then spot-check a file with a second tool.

For a mixed folder of photos, documents and videos, a general metadata tool is
the better choice, as the page on the
[Metadata2Go alternative](/compare/metadata2go-alternative) explains. For a long
list of images where you only want fields removed, ExifTool with the audit above
is free and exact.

## What a batch cannot remove

Two things survive any metadata command, however carefully you run it. The first
is anything stored in the pixels. A watermark such as SynthID is part of the
picture, so a folder with every tag gone can still carry it, as the guide to
[how SynthID works](/guides/synthid) explains. The second is a copy of the
original somewhere else: a cloud backup, a sent email or a published post.
Cleaning the files on your disk does nothing about those.

Plan for both before you send a set out. If a client needs to know how the images
were made, tell them, and treat the metadata work as housekeeping, not as a way
to change the answer.

## Questions

### How many files can I clean at once?

With ExifTool the limit is your disk and patience, not the tool. PassReal accepts up to 20 files per batch and a total upload of 60 MB per request.

### Should I overwrite the originals?

Not until the audit is clean. ExifTool's own manual advises verifying new files before erasing the originals, and writing to a separate folder removes the risk.

### Will this keep the orientation of my photos?

Not by default. Clearing every group also removes the orientation tag, and some pictures then display sideways. Re-add that tag in the same command if you need it.

### Can I do it without the command line?

Yes. Graphical front ends for ExifTool exist, and web services such as Metadata2Go or PassReal take files in a browser. The audit step is still worth doing.

### Does batch removal handle mixed formats?

ExifTool does, within the formats it can write. Check its supported file types for any format that matters to you, since some are read-only.

Try it: https://passreal.com/app (three images free)