Photos & EXIF

Remove Metadata From PNG Files Online (Free, 2026)

PNG files store metadata in tEXt, iTXt, and zTXt chunks — including software fingerprints and AI-generation prompts.

2026-06-21 · 6 min read

PNGs are often assumed to be metadata-free. They aren't. The PNG specification supports several text chunks (`tEXt`, `iTXt`, `zTXt`) that store author names, software fingerprints, color profiles, and — increasingly — AI generation prompts and model names. If you share PNG screenshots, exported designs, or AI-generated images, you're likely leaking more than you realize.

What Metadata a PNG Can Contain

The PNG format defines these chunks for arbitrary metadata:

• tEXt — uncompressed key/value pairs (Author, Copyright, Software, etc.)
• iTXt — international (UTF-8) text, often used by AI image generators to store the prompt
• zTXt — compressed text, used by Adobe products for XMP blocks
• eXIf — full EXIF block (rare but spec-supported since PNG 1.5)
• iCCP — embedded color profile (can fingerprint your monitor)
• pHYs — physical pixel dimensions (DPI), sometimes used to fingerprint export tools

The most common offenders today:

• Photoshop / Figma / Sketch exports leave software version and original filename
• Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI, Automatic1111 write the entire prompt, negative prompt, seed, model name, and LoRA list into a `tEXt` chunk
• macOS screenshots embed the screenshotting Mac's display profile
• Windows Snipping Tool embeds software version

For background on AI image metadata specifically, see AI-generated images metadata cleaning.

How to Remove PNG Metadata in 30 Seconds (Free, Online)

1. Open MetaClean Pro.
2. Drag your PNG in.
3. Click Clean Metadata.
4. Download the cleaned file.

Processed in your browser. No upload. No watermark. No quality loss.

What MetaClean Pro Strips From a PNG

• Every `tEXt`, `iTXt`, and `zTXt` chunk (including AI prompts)
• `eXIf` blocks
• `iCCP` color profiles (optional toggle — leave on if accurate color matters for print)
• Adobe XMP packets
• Software, Author, Copyright, Comment fields

Command Line (ExifTool or pngcrush)

ExifTool: ``` exiftool -all= -overwrite_original image.png ```

pngcrush (also re-optimizes the file): ``` pngcrush -rem alla -rem text in.png out.png ```

Both are free; both run locally; both preserve image quality.

Why "Save As" in Photoshop Isn't Enough

Photoshop's Export As lets you toggle metadata — but only at three levels: None, Copyright, and All. Even "None" leaves the `iCCP` color profile and `pHYs` chunk. For a true scrub, run the exported file through a metadata cleaner.

AI-Generated PNG: A Special Case

A Stable Diffusion PNG typically contains:

``` parameters: a portrait of a woman, photorealistic, 8k, ... Negative prompt: cartoon, anime, blurry, ... Steps: 28, Sampler: DPM++ 2M Karras, CFG scale: 7, Seed: 384921047, Model: realisticVisionV60B1_v51HyperVAE, ... ```

That block reveals your exact workflow, prompt style, model, and seed — enough for someone to reproduce your work or fingerprint your generation pipeline. Always strip before publishing.

Verify the Strip Worked

Drop the cleaned PNG back into MetaClean Pro — the metadata panel should be empty. Or run: ``` exiftool cleaned.png ```

If only the standard `ImageWidth`, `ImageHeight`, `BitDepth`, and `ColorType` show up, you're clean.

Common Mistakes

• Resizing in Preview keeps metadata. Resizing doesn't strip chunks.
• Saving as PNG-8 keeps text chunks. Color depth doesn't affect metadata.
• Uploading to image hosts varies. Imgur strips most metadata; GitHub does not; Discord re-uploads as compressed JPEG for previews but keeps the original PNG with metadata available via direct link.

FAQ

Will removing PNG metadata change image quality? No. PNGs are lossless and metadata chunks are separate from pixel data.

Should I remove the iCCP color profile? Only if you don't need accurate color reproduction for print. For web display, removing it is fine.

Can I batch-strip a whole folder? Yes. Use MetaClean Pro Premium for a drag-and-drop ZIP workflow, or ExifTool: `exiftool -all= -overwrite_original *.png`.

Do PNG metadata removal tools work on APNG (animated PNG)? Yes — APNG is a PNG extension and uses the same chunk system.

Conclusion

PNG metadata is sneakier than EXIF in photos because most people don't know it exists. Make stripping a default step in your export workflow. For more on file privacy in general, start with what is metadata and why remove it, then clear metadata from any file type.

Clean a PNG free now →

Try MetaClean Pro free — remove metadata from your files in seconds.