Remove AI labels and metadata from photos and videos

ScrubPhoto removes the hidden data that tells Instagram, TikTok and Facebook a file came from an AI tool, plus the location, camera details and dates your phone saved. It runs free in your browser, and the photo you get back has exactly the same pixels.

How to remove an AI label and metadata in three steps

1. Tap Choose photos or videos and pick as many files as you want. On a computer you can also drop them on the page.
2. Read the card for each file. It lists what the file carries, like Content Credentials, an IPTC AI tag or GPS, and gives a verdict for Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. Tap a verdict to see why.
3. Tap the Scrub button. Each file shows what was removed, what was kept and "Pixels identical". Then use Share on a phone (on iPhone it includes Save Image), Download, or Download all (.zip).

The AI label checker runs step 2 on its own, without changing the file.

Why Instagram, Facebook and TikTok label photos as AI

Meta said in 2024 that it labels posts on Instagram, Facebook and Threads when it finds industry standard AI indicators in the file (C2PA Content Credentials and IPTC metadata) or when the poster discloses AI use. On Instagram that is the AI info label (Instagram has also shown it as AI content, and first called it Made with AI). Since September 2024, photos that were only edited with AI show it in the post menu instead of on the post. TikTok said in May 2024 that it reads Content Credentials and labels images and videos that carry them.

Editing apps write these markers too, so a real photo retouched with an AI tool can carry them. Platform rules: Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, YouTube and X.

What ScrubPhoto removes from each file type

• JPEG: EXIF (camera, GPS, serial numbers, software, dates), XMP, the Photoshop IPTC block, C2PA, comments, and data stored after the image, like motion-photo video and depth maps.
• PNG: text chunks, including Stable Diffusion WebUI and ComfyUI prompts, plus EXIF and the C2PA chunk.
• WebP: EXIF, XMP and C2PA chunks.
• MP4, MOV and M4V: C2PA and XMP boxes and the boxes holding Apple GPS location, device model and software.
• HEIC: re-saved as a JPEG at quality 95 in Safari and marked "re-encoded, not lossless". Chrome and Android cannot open HEIC, so convert it to JPEG in your Photos app first.

Lossless: same pixels, same colors, still upright

ScrubPhoto never decodes your image. It cuts out the metadata bytes and copies everything else untouched, so the output pixels match the original byte for byte, which the project's tests confirm with a separate decoder. The ICC color profile stays, so wide-gamut color like the Display P3 profile in iPhone photos survives. If a photo needs its orientation tag to display upright, the tool writes back that one tag and nothing else.

Videos are never re-encoded. Metadata boxes are renamed to free and zero-filled in place, so the file size stays the same. See the video metadata remover.

Nothing is uploaded, ever

Every step runs on your device, with no account and no cap on the number of files. On Android you can install ScrubPhoto from the browser and it appears in the share sheet. The privacy page has the details.

What no metadata remover can change

Metadata is one signal. Removing it does not touch watermarks in the pixels, like Google DeepMind's SynthID or the invisible watermark on Meta AI images. It cannot undo a label you added yourself, a platform classifier's call, or a label on a live post. Meta also requires people to disclose photorealistic AI video and realistic AI audio, and a clean file does not change that rule. The limits page lists the rest.

Start with why your Instagram post says AI info or removing metadata on iPhone. Single-job tools: photo metadata remover, EXIF remover, C2PA remover, metadata viewer.

Questions about removing AI labels and metadata

Will removing metadata take the AI label off my Instagram photo?

It removes the file signals Meta says it reads, C2PA and IPTC metadata, from the copy you post. It cannot change a post that is already up, a label you chose yourself, or a watermark in the pixels. Run the file through the checker first.

How do I remove an AI label from a photo for free?

Choose the photo above, tap Scrub, then post the clean copy instead of the original. The Instagram page walks through that for posts, Stories and Reels.

Does ScrubPhoto lower the quality of my photos?

No. For JPEG, PNG, WebP, MP4, MOV and M4V the image and video data are copied byte for byte. HEIC is the one exception in this version, and the result is labeled "re-encoded, not lossless".

Can I use ScrubPhoto on iPhone?

Yes. Open the site in Safari, scrub your photos, then tap Share and pick Save Image. iPhone does not let web apps join the share sheet, so start from the site.

Does ScrubPhoto remove SynthID or other AI watermarks?

No. SynthID and Meta's invisible watermark live in the pixels, and ScrubPhoto neither detects nor removes them. The SynthID guide explains your real options.

Can ScrubPhoto make an AI image look like a camera photo?

No. It only removes data and never writes a camera make, model or any other invented history into a file.

Sources

Official pages this page was checked against in October 2026:

• about.fb.com/news/2024/02/labeling-ai-generated-images-on-...
• newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/partnering-with-our-industry-to-advance...