Photo Investigator: GPS & EXIF

Your photos know more than you think.

Every image your iPhone takes secretly stores GPS coordinates, timestamps, device details, and — in the age of AI — fingerprints that reveal whether the picture came from a camera or a machine. Photo Investigator shows you exactly what's hidden, and gives you the tools to remove what you don't want to share.


NEW IN 8.1 — AI IMAGE DETECTION

Photo Investigator now flags AI-generated images using on-device metadata signals. No image leaves your phone.

We check three layers:

• C2PA Content Credentials — the signed provenance standard backed by Adobe, OpenAI, Microsoft, and others. When an AI tool signs an image cryptographically, we read the manifest and surface it.

• XMP DigitalSourceType — the field that conforming AI generators write to declare origin (trainedAlgorithmicMedia). Used by Instagram, Facebook, and X for their "Made with AI" labels.

• EXIF fingerprints — the gaps real cameras don't have. Authentic photos carry focal length, lens model, ISO, and a shutter timestamp. AI-generated images often don't — and some generators name themselves in the CreatorTool field.

No signal is perfect — screenshots and recompression erase a lot — but for unmodified AI exports, the signals are usually there. We put them in front of you, on the metadata you already trust.


THE PRIVACY TOOLS

• Strip GPS — remove precise coordinates, altitude, and compass direction before sharing
• Clear timestamps, device details, copyright, and creator fields
• See at a glance whether a photo reveals where you live, work, or travel
• Use the Photos editing extension to clean metadata without leaving Photos
• Templates for one-tap presets across an entire photo selection
• Edit confirmation — review every change before it's saved


THE DEEPEST METADATA VIEWER ON iOS

• Every EXIF, IPTC, and XMP field in one place — nothing hidden from you
• GPS coordinates, altitude, direction, and UTC capture time
• Camera make, model, lens, focal length, ISO, shutter speed, aperture, color space
• IPTC: creator, copyright, description, keywords, credit, source
• XMP: edit history, ratings, Content Credentials, AI provenance
• Video: codec, resolution, frame rate, HDR data, plus audio export
• Extended attributes (xattr): which app created the file, original filename, timezone — system-level fields iOS doesn't surface anywhere else
• Depth maps, Live Photo flags, HDR flags, WebP hidden metadata, RAW support


INSPECT FROM ANYWHERE

• Photos editing extension — review and edit metadata without leaving Photos
• Share sheet extension — inspect any file's metadata from Messages, Files, or any app
• Open any location instantly in Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, or Maps.me
• Browse your full photo and video library with metadata visible at a glance


MADE FOR

• Privacy-conscious users who share photos online and want to know what they're broadcasting
• Journalists and investigators verifying image authenticity and provenance
• Photographers managing camera settings, copyright, and editorial metadata
• Researchers and forensic analysts who need a full technical record, including xAttr and C2PA Content Credentials
• Anyone curious about what their phone quietly records every time they tap the shutter


THE MAP

Every geotagged photo in your library plotted on a satellite map. Tap any pin to open the photo and its metadata. The arrow shows which way the camera was pointing.


Note: viewing all metadata is free. Editing and removing metadata requires a one-time in-app purchase.

In the App Store since 2012. Built and maintained by a single developer who cares about your privacy.