Level 1

10 points

General metadata erasing

Hi!

I would like to know how to - in general - remove metadata from files in OSX. As a former Windows user, it was very quick and easy by right-clicking the file, info, delete info. However, I'm struggling to do this in OSX. Finder's info only shows it, without allowing you to edit the data. What I need to delete are creation dates, etc. Already found a program to help me erase photo's EXIF information, but other files such as videos (record date and time, etc) also record metadata which I really need to wipe.

Sometimes the easiest things seem so complicated with Mac 😟

Thanks for your help!

MacBook Air

Posted on Jun 2, 2013 2:08 PM

32 replies

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Jun 4, 2013 8:23 AM in response to putnik

putnik wrote:

Pondini, I'm glad you could contribute more expertise than I was able to. Can you caste any light on these "Apple Double" files, that allegedly contain metadata?

I have OnyX, too, but have never fooled with that.

Apparently, it applies only to files installed on non-HFS volumes (ie, Windoze formats), so won't help here.

etresoft

Level 9

56,326 points

Jun 4, 2013 9:34 AM in response to YEFAYEFA

YEFAYEFA wrote:

I'm not trying to save disk space nor is it paranoia, it's just my way of organising my files, that I've had in Windows for years now.

How does the presence of this metadata impact your organization?

Spotlight is a major feature of OS X and it searches on metadata. Information is what I do for a living and this just seems like sacrilege to me. 😢

YEFAYEFA Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 4, 2013 9:47 AM in response to etresoft

It doesn't directly impact on my organisation, but I do not want nor need people accessing my shared files to know who took a picture, which videocamera I used to record a video, or who was the last person editing a Pages file, for example. All I want them to know, besides from what's within the file itself, will be on the file title.

For example all my photos (I've got an 8 years collection), are strictly named as follows:

YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS.JPG

As you can see, all the information I want people to have is within the file title. I don't care for them knowing which exposure I used with my camera when taking the picture, where was it taken, what model of camera I used... It doesn't affect my organisation, but it provides extra information that people do not need. If I wanted them to have that information, I would transmit it in another way (not been the case, don't think it will ever be).

To be honest it's just a matter of ME being able to control MY information. I know my Mac is not guilty for this information being there, as it's not it recording it. But from my POV, allowing users to edit whatever is shown under "Get Info" (Finder) is quite a humble request. Again, I'm not talking about crucial data such as original date, file size, etc, I'm talking about extra bits that add no crucial value to me.

Looking forward to be able to test EXTTRA tonight and let you guys know the output. Maybe it will help another Mac noob like me some day.

etresoft

Level 9

56,326 points

Jun 4, 2013 12:57 PM in response to YEFAYEFA

YEFAYEFA wrote:

Looking forward to be able to test EXTTRA tonight and let you guys know the output.

I can tell you right now. That is not the metadata you are looking for. That tool is for metadata added by OS X. It is a front-end to the xattr program. It will do nothing for your photos.

I'll return to the fundamental question: keeping or sharing? This information is valuable and metadata is the perfect place for it. If you are sharing from pretty much any known method other than e-mailing the original files, then the metadata gets stripped out anyway. Basically, all you are doing is depriving yourself of the information.

If you really and truly want to strip the metadata from all of your images, look for a tool that can modify EXIF data and is scriptable. There are dozens. You will need a different tool for each type of document.

You are free to ask Apple to write such a tool for all known document and integrate it into the finder. Don't hold your breath.

YEFAYEFA Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 4, 2013 1:17 PM in response to Old Toad

As many of you said, EXTTRA did not do the job. It didn't find any of the data I was looking to delete. Indeed it seems like I will have to use one application per kind of metadata that I want to delete - nonsense from my POV anyways 😟...

@Old Toad - That's a nice one, many thanks! However, I've found "ImageMetadataStripper" which seems to do the same, at no cost:

http://codewelt.com/stripper

Thanks all for your great support and ideas.

Aug 5, 2015 8:11 AM in response to YEFAYEFA

Hi YEFAYEFA,

Despite all the heros on this thread trying to save the world from the evils of human nature I wanted to share with you how to remove metadata on files so that someone doesn't do a simple search in finder for a common word and all your hidden files show up. Otherwise, what is the point of hiding the files in the first place!

Alright, open up the terminal.

Then "cd" to the directory

Use "xattr -c <filename>"

That will remove any unwanted search terms from the file. Let me know if you need me to clarify anything. Cheers!

-Monk

putnik

Level 4

1,185 points

Jun 4, 2013 7:56 AM in response to Pondini

Pondini, I'm glad you could contribute more expertise than I was able to. Can you caste any light on these "Apple Double" files, that allegedly contain metadata?

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jun 2, 2013 4:13 PM in response to YEFAYEFA

Sometimes the easiest things seem so complicated with Mac

That's usually because there's no good reason to do those things. What problem are you trying to solve?

YEFAYEFA Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 4, 2013 3:21 AM in response to putnik

So if I understand correctly, in OSX metadata is not handled within the files themselves but in DS_Store?

YEFAYEFA Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 4, 2013 3:34 AM in response to putnik

Let's hope someone will reply. All I want is to be able to handle my file's metadata, as quickly and straightforward as I do with my work Windows PC.

Thanks all.

putnik

Level 4

1,185 points

Jun 4, 2013 4:12 AM in response to YEFAYEFA

Then, there is a very good reason for keeping the metadata, to enforce accountability for people's actions. This would be needed to comply with ISO 9001 in any case.

YEFAYEFA Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 4, 2013 7:31 AM in response to Pondini

Haha, I'll try to be careful :-) If not, I might just re-format my Mac (which I've done a trillion times since I bought it half a year ago - learning process)

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jun 4, 2013 8:41 AM in response to YEFAYEFA

You're not referring to HFS metadata, but to EXIF data within image files. That's not stored in extended attributes. You would need a third-party application to modify it.

YEFAYEFA Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 4, 2013 9:16 AM in response to etresoft

I'm not trying to save disk space nor is it paranoia, it's just my way of organising my files, that I've had in Windows for years now.

😕

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jun 4, 2013 10:16 AM in response to YEFAYEFA

It's not clear what you intend to test, but if it's anything other than removing EXIF data, the test will be a failure.

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General metadata erasing