This glossary explains the terms that commonly appear in metadata cleanup tools and file privacy workflows.
The most important terms are EXIF for camera and GPS data, XMP and IPTC for editorial information, ID3 for audio, and container metadata for video.
How to use this glossary
Use these definitions to understand the before-and-after metadata view and decide which fields are sensitive for your situation.
EXIF
A set of fields commonly found in photos. It may include date, camera, lens, orientation, embedded thumbnail, and GPS coordinates.
XMP
An extensible metadata format used by editors, publishing workflows, and image libraries for authorship, rights, tags, and history.
IPTC
An editorial standard used for fields such as credit, caption, keywords, city, country, and journalism information.
ID3
Common metadata tags in MP3 files. They may store artist, album, artwork, comment, year, and descriptive fields.
Geotagging
Location data stored in a file. It may reveal latitude, longitude, altitude, and device direction.
Container metadata
Information stored in the wrapper around video or audio, such as encoder, creation date, duration, tracks, language, and source.
Frequently asked questions
Are EXIF and metadata the same thing?
EXIF is one type of metadata. Metadata is the broader category that also includes XMP, IPTC, ID3, and container data.
Does every media file have metadata?
Not every file has sensitive fields, but many carry technical or editorial context.