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What EXIF data actually records

Every photo from a camera or phone carries a hidden record called EXIF: when the shot was taken, on what device, with what settings, and often where. It's written at the moment of capture, it travels inside the file, and most people never know it's there. For anyone checking whether a photo is what it claims to be, EXIF is the first evidence to read, and the first thing to read correctly, because it tells the truth only as reliably as the path the photo traveled.

The fields that matter

The capture timestamp records when the shutter fired, separately from when the file was last saved, and that distinction is the single most useful thing in EXIF. A photo whose capture time and save time match has lived a quiet life. A photo whose save time is months after its capture time has been touched by something since. The device fields name the camera or phone model. The GPS block, when present, records where the device was standing. And software fields record what processed the image, a phone's camera app, or an editor.

What EXIF can and cannot prove

EXIF is written by the device, but it's just data, editable with free tools like any metadata. A camera with a wrong clock writes wrong times all day. So EXIF works the way PDF metadata works: it generates a story to test, not a verdict. The story gets tested against everything else, does the device claimed match the sender, do the timestamps fit the claimed event, does the editing software belong in an "unedited" photo's history. Consistency is the evidence; any single field is just a claim.

What strips it

Screenshots carry no capture EXIF at all, they're new images born on a screen. Most messaging apps and social platforms strip metadata on upload, deliberately, for privacy. Photo editors replace device fields with their own. So an original-off-the-camera file is rich with evidence, and a photo that traveled through a chat app arrives nearly silent. Silence isn't guilt, but it moves the burden: a photo that can't testify needs its story confirmed another way.

FAQ

Does taking a screenshot of a photo remove the evidence?

Yes, completely. A screenshot is a brand-new image of your screen; nothing from the original photo's metadata survives. That's also why screenshots are the standard way altered images get passed along.

Can EXIF data be faked?

Yes, every field, with free tools. Faking it consistently is harder, capture time, GPS, device model, and file-level records all have to agree, and contradictions between them are exactly what an examination finds.

Why does my photo show no location?

Either location services were off for the camera, the device doesn't record GPS, or the file passed through an app that stripped it. Absence of GPS is normal and proves nothing by itself.