What metadata is in a video
Metadata is information stored inside the file alongside the pictures and sound. A typical phone video records the device model, the creation date and time, and often GPS coordinates. Editing apps add their own tags when they export, so a file can show which app processed it and when.
None of this is visible when you watch the video. It sits in the file's headers, and any tool that reads the file can see it.
How to check a file's metadata
On a Mac, right-click the file, choose Get Info, and look at the details. For the full tag list, free tools like ExifTool or MediaInfo show everything inside the file. On Windows, right-click, choose Properties and open the Details tab. On iPhone, open the video in Photos and swipe up to see the capture details.
Check a file before and after any cleanup so you can see what actually changed.
Remove metadata on iPhone
To strip location from a video you are about to share, open it in Photos, swipe up, tap Adjust next to the location and remove it. To stop recording location in the first place, go to Settings, Privacy and Security, Location Services, Camera, and set it to Never.
Sharing through some apps strips more metadata than others, but it can also recompress the video. If quality matters, clean the file itself rather than relying on a share sheet.
Remove metadata on Mac or Windows
On Windows, right-click the file, open Properties, go to the Details tab and choose Remove Properties and Personal Information. This covers the basics but not every tag inside a video container.
For a thorough clean on Mac or Windows, ExifTool is the standard free option. Running it with the all tags removed option strips the metadata while leaving the video and audio streams untouched. Re-encoding in an editor also rewrites metadata, but costs you a generation of quality.
CapCut exports
CapCut writes its own tags into exported files, including the app name and export time. If you post CapCut exports, those tags travel with the file. Cleaning the export with the steps above removes them, but exporting again from CapCut puts its tags back.
What Fresh Copies does with metadata
Every copy Fresh Copies makes has the original metadata stripped and clean iPhone-style tags written in its place, with a new creation date. You do not need a separate cleanup step: the copies you download are already clean.
This is one part of making each copy its own file. The visible edits and uniqueness checks are described in our duplicate matcher test, and the video spoofer overview covers the full workflow. Free trial: 20 copies. No card.
Common questions
Does removing metadata change the video itself?
Not if you strip tags directly. The pictures and sound stay identical. Re-encoding to remove metadata does cost quality, which is why tag stripping is the better route.
Does metadata include my location?
It can. Phones often record GPS coordinates when you shoot. Check a file before posting if location privacy matters to you.
Can platforms see metadata?
Any service you upload to can read the file's metadata. Clean tags are good hygiene, but metadata alone does not decide how a platform treats a post.
Do Fresh Copies copies keep my original metadata?
No. Original metadata is stripped on every copy, and clean iPhone-style tags with a new creation date are written instead.
Try it on your own video
Free trial: 20 copies. No card. You can also test copies you already have with the free copy checker. It runs on your device, so your files never leave it.