Video and audio metadata: location, dates and device details
Published October 13, 2026 · 3 min read
In this article7 sections
Video and audio files can contain dates, application names, device details and, in some videos, location data. To reduce exposure, inspect the metadata, remove personal fields with a tool that supports the format and check the exported copy before sharing it.
Not every file contains GPS or a phone model. Recording settings, exports and transfers affect what remains. A format conversion alone does not prove that personal metadata is gone.
What might the file contain?
| Information | Possible location | Why review it? |
|---|---|---|
| Coordinates | Video tags or GPS tracks | May reveal a recording location |
| Dates and times | Headers and tags | May disclose a recording sequence |
| Device model and software | Camera or phone files | May identify recording equipment |
| Title, artist and comments | Audio tags | May include names or work details |
| Embedded artwork | Some audio tags | May expose an unintended image |
MOV and MP4 can contain camera and location details in QuickTime structures. 1 MP3 can contain ID3 tags for titles, artists, comments and pictures. 2
The details vary by format. Do not assume that a voice note has the same fields as a camera video.
A file date may not be the recording date
Your operating system shows creation and modification dates for a file in its folder. Copying or downloading a recording can change those dates.
Internal timestamps may refer to recording, export or a device clock. A field labelled “date” is not enough to establish when an event occurred.
Share an iPhone video without location
- Open the video in Photos.
- Tap Share, then Options.
- Turn off Location.
- Confirm and share through your chosen method. 3
This controls shared location rather than promising removal of every metadata field. Apple also documents disabling Camera's Location Services access to prevent location collection in future captures. 4
On Android, look for a save-location setting in the camera app. Switching it off affects new recordings; it does not automatically clean old files.
Inspect and remove metadata on a computer
- Duplicate the source and work on the copy.
- Use a local metadata reader that recognizes the format.
- Note personal fields, tags and additional tracks.
- Remove them with a tool that explicitly supports that file type.
- Inspect the output again and check what remains.
- Test sound, picture and orientation.
ExifTool can assist with inspection. An example for a more detailed video check is exiftool -a -G1 -s -ee recording.mp4. Its documentation warns that searching only the EXIF GPS group can miss location stored elsewhere. 5
For audio, a tag editor may remove names, comments and artwork without recompressing the sound, where its format support allows it. Review the available fields rather than clearing just the title.
A technical option for a new video copy
With FFmpeg installed, this example writes the first video track and audio tracks to another MP4 while disabling automatic copying of global metadata, track metadata and chapters:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -map 0:v:0 -map "0:a?" -c copy -map_metadata -1 -map_metadata:s -1 -map_chapters -1 output.mp4
The selection omits separate subtitle and data tracks. Streamcopy avoids re-encoding the selected tracks when they fit the output container. 6 This is not a certification that every piece of embedded information is absent. Inspect the result; adapt the track selection if you need subtitles or other streams.
What local conversion protects
Imagyc's video converter and audio converter process files on your device without uploading them. That prevents a file upload during conversion.
The converted file also comes out without the original's metadata: title, artist, recording date, location, and device make and model are left out. We checked this with iPhone videos (MOV to MP4 and MOV), MKV to MKV and WebM, and FLAC audio to MP3, FLAC and WAV. If you need that information, for example to sort clips by recording date, tick “Keep metadata” before converting.
The new file gets its own technical creation date, which is the moment of conversion. For formats and cases outside those tests, check the result with a suitable reader. The image metadata guide covers the related issue for photographs.
The recording itself may still identify people or places: faces, house numbers, number plates and spoken names remain after tag removal.
Frequently asked questions
Does every video contain GPS?
No. It depends on the device, permissions and how the file was produced.
Will MP3 conversion remove all personal information?
Not necessarily. Check tags, artwork, the filename and the audio itself.
Should I remove technical fields such as duration?
No. Technical information helps playback and is not automatically personal information.
Does removing metadata guarantee anonymity?
No. The recording, filename and sharing context can still identify people and locations.