How to Edit Metadata on Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS

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Easily edit image or file metadata on a computer, phone, or tablet
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Metadata is structured data that describes the attributes of a specific file. It is usually used to categorize and sort files, but can also be read by a person who wants to find out more information about a file. Depending on the file, you may want to edit the metadata to remove personal or identifying info, such as your location in photos. This wikiHow article teaches you how to view and edit metadata on various platforms.

How to Quickly Edit Metadata

Right-click a file and go to Properties > Details . Edit metadata as needed. To remove metadata, click Remove properties and personal information , click the radio button next to "Remove the following properties," select data to remove, and click OK . Some metadata may not be editable.

Section 1 of 6:

Editing Metadata on Windows

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  1. 1
    Press ⊞ Win + E to open File Explorer. You can easily edit image metadata and photo metadata using File Explorer in Windows.
  2. 2
    Right-click the file and select Properties . This displays various information about the file.
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  3. 3
    Click the Details tab. It's at the top of the properties window. This displays the metadata for that file.
  4. 4
    Enter the new metadata and click Apply . Double-click the field you want to change, enter a new item for that field, then click Apply in the lower-right corner. This saves your changes to the metadata. [1]
    • If you want to remove all metadata from the file, click Remove properties and personal information at the bottom of the panel. Then, click the radio button next to "Remove the following properties from the file," check the box next to the properties you want to remove, and click OK to save your changes.
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Section 2 of 6:

Editing Metadata on Mac

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  1. 1
    Edit the metadata of photos and videos. You can edit metadata for images and videos using the Photos app. Use the following steps to do so: [2]
    • Open the Photos app.
    • Click the picture or video you want to edit.
    • Go to Image > Adjust Date & Time .
    • Edit the date and time in the fields, and/or select a time zone.
    • Click Adjust .
    • Click the information icon (a circle with an "i" in the toolbar) or press Command + i .
    • Click Add a Title , Add a Caption , Add a Location , or Change the Location and make any needed changes.
  2. 2
    Edit music metadata of music files. To make changes to metadata in audio files, use the Music app. Use the following steps to do so: [3]
    • Open the Music app.
    • Navigate to the song you want to edit.
    • Right-click (or Control-Click ) the file and select Get Info .
    • Click the Details tab.
    • Adjust the metadata fields and click OK .
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Section 3 of 6:

Using ExifTool on Android

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  1. 1
    Download and install "ExifTool for photo and video" for Android. ExifTool is a free app that allows you to view and edit image metadata and video metadata on Android. You can download it for free from the Google Play Store. Use the following steps to do so:
    • Open the Google Play Store .
    • Search "ExifTool."
    • Tap ExifTool for photo and video .
    • Tap Install .
  2. 2
    Open ExifTool. It has a pink icon that says "Exif/XMP Tool." Tap the ExifTool icon in the Apps menu to open ExifTool. Alternatively, you can tap Open in the Google Play Store once it is finished downloading.
    • The first time you open ExifTool, you will need to grant the app permission to access your files. Tap Allow , tap the toggle switch to allow it access to your files, then tap Allow for any other permissions it asks.
  3. 3
    Tap the Photo , Video or File Picker tab. The Photo tab sorts your files by photos. The Video tab sorts your files by videos. The File Picker tab allows you to browse files and folders on your device.
  4. 4
    Tap a file you want to edit. This will display the metadata for that file.
  5. 5
    Tap the pencil icon
    Android 7 Edit
    next to a piece of metadata you want to edit.     Not all items can be edited. Items that can be edited will have a pencil icon next to them.
  6. 6
    Change the data and click OK or Change . Use the on-screen keyboard to modify the data. This will change that field in the metadata.
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Section 4 of 6:

Using Exif Metadata on iPhone & iPad

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  1. 1
    Download and install Exif Metadata. Exif Metadata is a free app that allows you to view and edit image metadata on iPhone and iPad. You can download it from the App Store. Use the following steps to do so:
    • Open the App Store .
    • Tap the Search tab.
    • Search "Exif Metadata."
    • Tap GET next to Exif Metadata.
  2. 2
    Open Exif Metadata. Exif Metadata has an orange icon that says "EXIF." Tap the Exif Metadata icon on your home screen to open Exif Metadata.
    • The first time you open Exif Metadata, you will need to grant it permission to access your photos and videos. Tap Allow access to all to grant access.
  3. 3
    Tap the Plus icon
    Android 7 New
    .     It's in the center of the screen. This opens your photo album.
  4. 4
    Tap an album. This displays all the photos in that album.
  5. 5
    Tap a photo. This displays the photo and all the metadata associated with that photo.
    • To set a location for the photo, tap Set Location in the center of the screen. Select a location on the map and tap Save in the upper-right corner.
  6. 6
    Tap Edit . It's in the upper-right corner. This allows you to edit the metadata.
  7. 7
    Tap Tap to Edit next to a item you want to edit. When you see a piece of metadata you want to edit, tap tap to edit to the right of it.
  8. 8
    Edit the field and tap Save . Use the on-screen keyboard to edit the information, then tap Save in the upper-right corner.
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Section 5 of 6:

Using Photoshop on PC or Mac

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  1. 1
    Open an image in Photoshop. You can use Adobe Photoshop to edit image metadata. To open an image in Photoshop, right-click an image, select Open with , then select Photoshop from the list of apps. You can also select an image from the title screen on Photoshop, or by clicking File followed by Open .
    • You can also use Adobe Bridge or Adobe Lightroom to edit metadata for files.
  2. 2
    Click File menu and select File Info . This is where you can view the metadata for a photo in Photoshop.
  3. 3
    Edit the metadata. There are 12 tabs in the menu bar to the left. Select one of these tabs and edit the metadata. The tabs are as follows:
    • Basic: This is where you can edit the description, keywords, author, and copyright information.
    • Camera Data: This tab contains information about the camera that took the image. This may include the camera model, as well as various settings. This data may not be editable.
    • Origin: This contains information about when the photo was originally created.
    • IPTC Extension: IPTC stands for "International Press Telecommunications Council." This is a different metadata standard used to categorize news, stock photos, and other professional photos. This information may contain information such as the people in the photo, the location, featured organizations, an event, the image creator, the copyright holder, and any license agreements the image has.
    • GPS Data: Contains any geolocation or GPS data that was added to an image when the photo was taken with a mobile phone or other GPS-enabled device.
    • Audio and Video data: If there is any audio or video data, this may contain information such as the artist or frame rate.
    • Photoshop: Use this tab to create a log of Photoshop edits that have been made.
    • DICOM: DICOM is used with medical images and may contain patient information.
    • AEM Properties: Displays information related to Adobe Enterprises.
    • RAW Data: Displays the entire XMP structure and raw metadata embedded within the photo.
  4. 4
    Click OK and save the photo. After editing the photo's metadata, you can save the photo by clicking File followed by Save or Save as to save a copy of the image.
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Section 6 of 6:

Using Adobe Acrobat

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  1. 1
    Open a PDF in Adobe Acrobat. If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can use it to edit metadata for PDFs. Open the document with the metadata you want to edit in Adobe Acrobat .
  2. 2
    Open the Document Properties windows. Use one of the following steps to do so:
    • Windows: Click the icon with three horizontal lines ( ☰ ) and select Document Properties .
    • Mac: Click File in the menu bar and select Document Properties .
  3. 3
    Edit the metadata. To change metadata, click the field you want to change, enter a new value, then click Change . You can also add new metadata here. To delete metadata, click a field you want to delete, then click Delete . [4]
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    If the metadata of a Word document has been edited, is it possible to identify that this has been done?
    Community Answer
    Yes, using the review tab in the ribbon, choose "Compare original documents." From the drop down list of documents, choose the original and current documents in the pop-up dialog. This opens a right-side bar with scrolling controls to review both documents stacked one above the other in the upper and lower frames.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_EJuk0g5vk
      2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/add-titles-captions-and-more-phta4e5a733f/mac
      3. ↑ https://www.xda-developers.com/how-change-song-metadata-macos/
      4. ↑ https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/pdf-properties-metadata.html

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