What the engine can establish
Whether supported metadata structures were found and removed; whether the cleaned file can be parsed again; and whether the encoded visual payload covered by the current proof matches.
Open product evidence · version 2026.07.12
Metadata claims should be testable.
Metadata Lab is the public support matrix and methodology behind metadata.click. It states which containers are handled, what the visual-payload proof actually proves, and where the browser engine deliberately stops.
Last reviewed July 12, 2026 · feature-level conformance, not a universal format claim
Current support
Four formats, with different safety boundaries.
- JPEG Inspect + clean EXIF/GPS, standard XMP and recognized provenance blocks; write rights XMP; verify encoded scan payload with SHA-256.
- PNG Inspect + clean supported EXIF/text/XMP/provenance chunks; write rights XMP; verify image-data chunk payload with SHA-256.
- WebP Inspect + clean supported EXIF/XMP/provenance and trailing RIFF data; verify encoded image/animation chunks with SHA-256. Rights writing is not yet available.
- DNG / ProRAW Inspect-only. Rewriting is disabled because RAW metadata can be rendering-critical.
Dataset record
One stable identifier, one dated version, two open distributions.
- Name metadata.click browser engine support matrix
- Identifier https://metadata.click/metadata-lab/#dataset
- Version 2026.07.12 · modified July 12, 2026
- Creator & publisher metadata.click
- Dataset contact hello@metadata.click
- Access & license Free to access and licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Keywords Image metadata; JPEG, PNG, WebP and DNG metadata; browser-local metadata cleaning; rights metadata; visual-payload SHA-256.
Variables measured
- Inspection support by format.
- Cleaning support by format.
- Rights-writing support by format.
- Encoded visual-payload proof support by format.
- Synthetic conformance result for each listed fixture assertion.
The JSON distribution records format-level capability and safety boundaries. The CSV distribution records synthetic fixture assertions measured on July 11, 2026. Version 2026.07.12 updates the dataset description and citation metadata; it does not claim new conformance measurements.
Method
Inspect, transform, re-inspect, compare.
- Validate the file signature and parse supported segment, chunk or IFD structures within safety limits.
- Remove or rewrite only supported metadata structures; do not decode and redraw the image.
- Inspect the result again and report which supported blocks remain.
- Hash the encoded visual payload before and after cleaning and compare the SHA-256 values.
A matching payload hash proves that the encoded JPEG scan data, PNG image-data payload, or WebP image chunks used by this check did not change. It does not mean the whole file is byte-for-byte identical, and it does not authenticate the scene or creator.
What metadata cannot establish
Metadata absence cannot prove that an image is human-made, anonymous or safe to publish. Platform classifiers, durable watermarks and server-side history sit outside ordinary file metadata.
How to cite
Cite the version you actually used.
Use the canonical dataset URL and include version 2026.07.12 so a reader can distinguish this release from later support-matrix updates. The dataset is free to access under CC BY 4.0.
metadata.click. (2026). metadata.click browser engine support matrix (Version 2026.07.12) [Data set]. https://metadata.click/metadata-lab/
Citation questions can be sent to hello@metadata.click. No DOI, named individual author or institutional affiliation is claimed for this release.
Standards & sources
Built around public specifications and explicit limits.
- CIPA Exif 2.32 specification
- W3C Portable Network Graphics specification
- Google WebP RIFF container documentation
- C2PA technical specifications
- Google Images metadata guidance
The downloadable support matrix is licensed under CC BY 4.0 so researchers and publishers can cite it with attribution and a version date.
Use the evidence, not a slogan
Clean a copy and keep your original.
Run the free browser tool, inspect the result, and treat the proof according to its stated scope.