Protect online privacy, the first thing you think of may be to protect your content - write carefully and carefully choose the published image content. But even if you are very careful, it may not be enough.

Everything you upload to the internet is attached with metadata. This data has nothing to do with the content of the file itself—including the format, the source program, the creation date, and sometimes even the author's name.

The situation with images is more complicated because these files use a standard called Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF). When you take photos or videos with your phone or tablet, it (by default) embeds information such as the manufacturer and model of the device that generates the file, as well as the exact GPS location where the file is created. (You can choose to exit these settings, however.) When you use a digital camera, this package will also include technical data, such as the ISO speed or aperture settings you used when taking photos.

If you are worried about sharing this potential personal information, you are not alone. The good news is that you can delete this data before sharing any files.

How to delete metadata of any file in Windows

Easy to clear files on Microsoft's operating system: You can use the same method for all file types.

Use Explorer to find any item you want to clear metadata, right-click it, and select Properties . Select the Details tab to see all information attached to it. To delete it, click the Delete properties and personal information link at the bottom of the dialog box. There, you can choose to clear all metadata at once, or delete a specific item.

[Related: Prevent your photos from being stolen on the Internet]

Check Create a copy and delete all possible properties next to to do this. This will enable you to keep files with all the details if you need it later. On the other hand, if you select to delete the circles next to the following properties from this file, you can select the portion of the data to erase by selecting the checkbox next to them in the dialog box. You can also click the Select All button, which will select all check boxes at once. Finally, click OK.

How to delete metadata in macOS

You may have many reasons to choose an Apple computer over a computer running Windows, but having a Mac certainly doesn't help when it comes to clearing metadata.

That is, macOS allows you to delete location data from image files very easily. Simply use to preview to open the picture and then open by pressing command i or go to tool and select Show Inspector Inspector. Under the More Information tab (the symbol is the letter "i" in the circle), click GPS to view the location metadata in the file. To clear it, click at the bottom of the dialog box to delete the location information .

This feature is great, but it's all that Apple offers. You cannot delete any other metadata without the help of a dedicated third-party application.

[Related: 23 useful Mac settings hidden in sight]

To delete the rest of the information attached to the image, we like ImageOptim, which is a free, lightweight, and easy to use file cleaning alternative. Visit the app's website to download it and unzip the file. Open the application and drag and drop the image you want to clean. The green check mark to the left of the file name will let you know that the operation is completed.

If you are dealing with PDF files, tools like PDFelement can help you edit and delete information you don't want to be bundled with files. The free trial will leave a watermark on your document, but if you want to delete them, you will need to pay $50 for 6 months or $90 for a year. If you already have it installed on your computer, Adobe Acrobat Pro is also a good choice. You can get a seven-day trial period, after which you can pay $25 a month or $15 a month for a year.

Most importantly, unlike Windows, macOS does not have a universal solution to clear file metadata. But not all hope is dashed, as there are always free tools or paid programs (with free trials) available for download, depending on the file format you are trying to clean up.

However, if you think it makes sense, you can always choose a PC.

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