Scrambled Exif Alternatives: Remove Photo Metadata on Android

4 October 2026 · alternatives · scrambled exif · remove exif android · privacy · metadata

Scrambled Exif is a favorite among privacy-minded Android users for a simple reason: it gets out of the way. You share a photo as usual, pick Scrambled Exif, and a moment later the share sheet reappears with a cleaned copy ready to send. It is free, open source (GPL-3.0) and does not show ads.

So why look for a Scrambled Exif alternative? Common reasons include:

• You want to clean video or audio, not just pictures.
• You want to keep some tags (camera settings, copyright) and remove only GPS.
• You want to edit metadata, such as fixing a wrong date, rather than delete it.
• You prefer to see exactly what was removed before sending.

The developer of Scrambled Exif is refreshingly honest about limits too: the listing advises double-checking files before you share. Below are fair, verified alternatives for different needs.

What to look for in a metadata remover

• Workflow. Share-menu cleaning is fastest. A full app is better for reviewing tags or processing folders.
• Formats. JPEG is the baseline. Check PNG, WebP, HEIC, RAW and video if you use them.
• Selective removal. Can you keep harmless fields and drop only location?
• Verification. A report or a tag viewer lets you confirm the result.
• Permissions and distribution. Open-source apps on F-Droid or Google Play, with minimal permissions, are easier to trust for privacy work.

For the basics of what EXIF actually stores, see what EXIF data is and how to remove it on Android.

Comparison at a glance

“Not listed” means the feature is not mentioned in the app’s official listing at the time of writing, not that it is impossible.

The options in detail

Scrambled Exif (the app you are replacing)

Scrambled Exif focuses on removing metadata from pictures at the moment of sharing. Its listing explains that Exif is mainly used by JPEG, the format Android cameras typically save in, and that it also renames files (you can turn this off). It only needs to read the images other apps share with it.

Pros: fastest possible workflow, open source, no ads. Cons: designed around pictures and full removal; no tag editing or selective removal is described.

ExifTool for Android

ExifTool for Android is our app, built on Phil Harvey’s ExifTool. It takes a different approach from Scrambled Exif: instead of a silent clean, you open the file and see every tag, including EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP, MakerNotes and ICC Profile.

• Remove EXIF, XMP and GPS data in one tap, or delete only the fields you choose
• Batch-process many photos or videos at once
• Works with images (JPG, HEIC, WEBP, RAW, PSD), videos (MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV) and audio (MP3, FLAC, OGG)
• Edit instead of delete: fix capture dates or change a geotag
• Export metadata to CSV

Files are processed on your device and the app works offline.

Pros: covers video and audio, lets you keep useful tags, doubles as a full editor. Cons: ad-supported; reviewing tags is an extra step compared with share-and-go.

Exif Eraser (Tommy-Geenexus)

Exif Eraser is the closest in spirit to Scrambled Exif. It is open source under the MIT license, described by its developer as permissionless, and saves JPEG, PNG and WebP images without their ICC Profile, EXIF and XMP data (plus Photoshop Image Resources for JPEG). The project is in maintenance mode, so expect fixes rather than new features.

Pros: minimal, open source, handles PNG and WebP in addition to JPEG. Cons: images only, no selective removal.

EXIF Remove (Jakob Kreft)

EXIF Remove, available on F-Droid, is a strong pick if you like Scrambled Exif but want more control. It accepts files shared from other apps, and templates decide what happens to each category: location and date can be kept, removed or randomized, while camera, software and author info can be kept or removed. Built-in templates include Remove everything and Remove location only. It cleans JPEG, PNG and WebP without re-encoding, converts HEIC and AVIF to clean JPEGs, cleans MP4, MOV and 3GP video, and re-checks each image before releasing it. Its F-Droid listing shows no internet permission.

Pros: selective and randomized cleaning, video support, per-file report. Cons: not distributed on Google Play, and no general tag editor.

Photo Exif Editor (Banana Studio)

If your real need is editing, Photo Exif Editor lets you view, modify and remove EXIF tags, change a photo’s location with Google Maps and batch-edit photos. It reads and writes JPEG and PNG.

Pros: friendly editor with map-based location changes. Cons: not built around a share-and-clean flow; ads in the free version.

Which one should you choose?

• Keep the share-and-go habit, images only: stay with Scrambled Exif or try Exif Eraser.
• Share-and-go with more control, or videos too: EXIF Remove.
• You want to see every tag, keep some and drop others, or clean videos and audio: ExifTool for Android.
• You mainly want to edit dates and locations: ExifTool for Android or Photo Exif Editor. Our Photo Exif Editor alternatives guide compares editors in more detail.

Whatever you choose, open the cleaned copy in a metadata viewer once, so you know your workflow really removes location data.

Summary

Scrambled Exif remains a great minimal tool. If you outgrow it, Exif Eraser and EXIF Remove keep the open-source, privacy-first spirit, while ExifTool for Android adds selective removal, editing and video and audio support in one free app.

Scrambled Exif, Exif Eraser, EXIF Remove, Photo Exif Editor and other product names are trademarks of their respective owners; CellHubs is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

ExifTool

Quickly view, modify or remove EXIF, GPS, IPTC and XMP data from photos, video and audio on Android. Free and offline-capable.

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