# Exiftool

## Remove all Metadata like camera model, lens, aperture etc from Image metadata.

### 1. Install ExifTool 

* Open Terminal and paste the following command to install Homebrew:

  ```sh
  /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
  ```
* **Install ExifTool**: Once Homebrew is installed, use it to install ExifTool by running:

  ```sh
  brew install exiftool
  ```

### 2. Strip All Metadata

To completely strip all metadata from the images, use the `-all=` option, which removes all metadata tags from the files.

1. **Open Terminal**.
2. **Navigate to the directory containing your images**. For example:

   ```sh
   cd ~/Desktop/images
   ```
3. **Run ExifTool to strip all metadata**: Use the following command to remove all metadata from all JPEG images in the directory:

   ```sh
   exiftool -all= -overwrite_original -r .
   ```

   Here is what each parameter does:

   * `-all=`: Removes all metadata tags.
   * `-overwrite_original`: Overwrites the original files without creating backup copies.
   * `-r`: Processes directories recursively.
   * `.`: Specifies the current directory.

### 3. Verify the Changes

After running the command, you can verify that the metadata has been removed by checking the properties of one of the images:

```sh
exiftool yourimage.jpg
```

Replace `yourimage.jpg` with the name of one of your JPEG files. ExifTool should return minimal information, indicating that most, if not all, metadata has been removed.

### Additional Step: Remove Specific Tags Only (Optional)

You can specify which tags to remove if you need to keep some metadata while removing others. Here’s an example that removes common camera-related metadata and other specific tags:

```sh
exiftool -Model= -Make= -FocalLength= -ExposureTime= -FNumber= -ISO= -ApertureValue= -ShutterSpeedValue= -WhiteBalance= -ExposureBiasValue= -Flash= -ProfileDescription= -ColorSpace= -ImageWidth= -ImageHeight= -ResolutionUnit= -XResolution= -YResolution= -overwrite_original -r .
```

Use this command if you want to selectively remove specific metadata fields while retaining others.