Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

This Privacy Policy explains how ExifReader.com and the AI Metadata Cleaner desktop app for Mac ("AMC") handle personal data. The operator and data controller is Andreas De Rosi, a sole proprietor based in Germany ("we", "us", "our"). You can reach us at [email protected]. Full contact details are in our Impressum.

2. The Short Version

• Our web tools process the images you upload on our server only to perform the action you asked for, and the files are intended to be deleted after processing.
• The AI Metadata Cleaner Mac app processes your images entirely on your own device. Your images never leave your Mac, and there is no account or login.
• Purchases are handled by Paddle as Merchant of Record. We do not receive your full payment-card details.
• We use analytics to understand site usage. Details and your rights are below.

3. Images You Upload to the Website

When you use a browser-based tool on ExifReader.com (for example the AI Metadata Remover, Detector, or editors), the image you choose is uploaded to our server, processed to provide the requested functionality, and then intended to be deleted after processing. We do not use your images to build profiles, we do not sell them, and we do not share them with third parties for their own purposes. You upload files at your own risk and should not submit content you cannot afford to have lost or exposed. See our Terms of Service and Disclaimer.

4. AI Metadata Cleaner (Mac App)

The AI Metadata Cleaner desktop app is designed to be private by default:

• Local processing. All reading and writing of your images happens on your Mac. We do not receive your images, their metadata, your file names, or your folder paths.
• No account. There is no sign-up or login to use the app.
• Your licence key. Pro is unlocked with a licence key you enter in the app. It is verified offline and stored locally in the macOS Keychain. It is not sent to us for tracking.
• No automatic network calls. The app does not phone home, run analytics, or send crash or telemetry data. The only network request it can make is when you choose "Check for Updates…", which fetches the update manifest at https://www.exifreader.com/media/downloads/amc-appcast.json to see whether a newer version exists. Your server request for that file is subject to standard web-server logging by our host.

5. Purchases and Payment Data (Paddle)

When you buy an AMC Pro licence, the purchase is handled by Paddle (Paddle.com Market Limited) acting as Merchant of Record. Paddle collects and processes the data needed to complete the sale, such as your email address, billing details, payment method, and tax/VAT information, under Paddle's own privacy notice. We receive from Paddle only the limited order information we need to deliver your licence and support you (for example your email address and an order reference). We do not receive your full payment-card details.

6. Licence Delivery and Support Email

Your licence key is emailed to you from [email protected]. If you contact support at [email protected] or through our contact form, we process your email address and the contents of your message in order to reply and provide support. Our website contact form is delivered through the processor Formspree.

7. Analytics and Cookies

To understand how the website is used, we run two analytics tools:

• Plausible Analytics, a privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics service that collects only aggregated, non-identifying usage data.
• Google Analytics 4, provided by Google as a processor. Google Analytics uses cookies and collects usage and device information, which may include processed or truncated IP data, to produce usage statistics.

The AI Metadata Cleaner desktop app contains no analytics and sets no cookies. If you would prefer not to be measured by Google Analytics, you can block analytics cookies in your browser or use a content blocker.

8. Affiliate Links

Some pages contain affiliate links (for example to Excire). If you click one and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The destination site is operated by a third party and may set its own cookies and process your data under its own privacy policy.

9. Legal Bases and Retention

Where the GDPR applies, we process data on these bases: performing the tool or purchase you request and delivering your licence (contract); running analytics and securing and improving the service (legitimate interests); and complying with legal and tax obligations (legal obligation). We keep order and support data only as long as needed for support, accounting, and legal retention requirements, and analytics data for a limited period in aggregated form.

10. International Transfers

Some processors (such as Google and Paddle) may process data outside the European Economic Area. Where they do, they rely on appropriate safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or an adequacy decision.

11. Your Rights

Under applicable data-protection law (such as the GDPR) you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to the processing of your personal data, and to data portability. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected].

12. Honest Limits

Removing metadata changes only metadata, not the image pixels. It cannot remove Google SynthID or other pixel-level or statistical watermarks and fingerprints, and it does not make an AI-generated image "undetectable." We would rather tell you that up front.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes take effect when posted on this page, so please review it periodically.

14. Contact

Data controller: Andreas De Rosi · [email protected]. Postal and full legal details are in our Impressum.