Meta-Scraper: Image Metadata Cleaner

A powerful Visual Studio Code extension that protects your privacy by viewing and removing metadata from image files. Keep your sensitive information secure when sharing images!

🎬 Demo Video

Demo

Note: We apologize for the poor video quality. We're working on creating a better demonstration.

✨ Features

🔍 View Image Metadata - Inspect all metadata embedded in your images
🧹 Clean Image Metadata - One-click removal of all sensitive information
🖼️ Format Support - Works with .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .tiff, .webp
🚀 Fast Processing - Efficient cleaning with real-time progress indicators
🔒 Local Processing - All operations happen locally, no data is sent to external servers

Right-click on any image file to access Meta-Scraper functions

🛡️ Why Cleaning Image Metadata Is Critical

Modern digital images contain a surprising amount of hidden metadata that could compromise your privacy:

Metadata Type	Privacy Risk
GPS Location	Reveals exact coordinates where the photo was taken
Device Information	Exposes your camera/phone model and unique identifiers
Creation Time	Shows precisely when the photo was taken
Software Details	Reveals what apps you use to edit photos
Author Info	Can include your name, email, or other personal details

Real-world consequences of uncleaned metadata:

🌎 Accidentally revealing your home location
🔍 Leaking information during sensitive document sharing
🔐 Exposing organizational details in professional contexts
⏱️ Revealing timeline information that should remain private

Meta-Scraper protects you by completely removing this hidden data while preserving image quality.

📋 Usage

Viewing Metadata

Right-click on an image file in VS Code Explorer
Select "View Image Metadata" from the context menu
A new document will open showing all metadata in JSON format

Cleaning Metadata

Right-click on an image file in VS Code Explorer
Select "Clean Image Metadata" from the context menu
Wait for the cleaning process to complete
The image will be replaced with a metadata-free version

🔧 Requirements

This extension uses ExifTool, which is automatically installed as a dependency. No additional software installation is required.

📊 Extension Settings

This extension is designed to be simple and does not require any configuration. Just install and use!

🔄 Future Improvements

Autonomous metadata clearing for images without manual intervention
Option to save cleaned images as new files
Batch processing for multiple images
Selective metadata cleaning
Custom metadata templates

🔒 Privacy Statement

Meta-Scraper processes all images locally on your machine. No data is transmitted to external servers, maintaining complete privacy of your information.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues or pull requests on the GitHub repository.

📜 License

This extension is released under the MIT License.

Made with ❤️ by natalie-a-1

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metascraper

Natalie Hill