Every image your iPhone takes secretly stores GPS coordinates, timestamps, and device details. And in the age of AI, it stores 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, 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.

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