Photo Metadata Editor review
A focused, privacy-conscious metadata editor for Windows photo and video workflows.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Photo Metadata Editor is an open-source Windows desktop application for viewing and editing metadata in photos and media files. It is aimed at photographers, archivists, and other Windows users who need direct control over descriptive, technical, copyright, capture-time, GPS, and location fields. The editor works with JPG, PNG, TIFF, HEIC, HEIF, WEBP, MOV, and MP4 files, while also displaying raw metadata and read-only camera and image facts. Its local processing model keeps photos and metadata on the computer rather than uploading them.
The metadata scope is broad for a desktop editor. Users can work with EXIF, XMP, IPTC, and QuickTime fields, including titles, descriptions, keywords, creators, copyright, capture time, camera information, software, GPS coordinates, and locations. Camera and GPS presets can help standardize repeated entries, and local OCR date detection provides an additional way to identify dates. Write verification uses a summary and read-back checks, while ExifTool backups support restoration when changes need to be reversed.
The main constraint is workflow scale: the documented process selects and edits one file at a time, so Photo Metadata Editor is not suited to batch metadata operations. It is also limited to Windows, and its documented format coverage does not include RAW files. With a free, open-source model and no paid tier distinction, it fits users who prioritize local processing, field-level control, and recovery options. Choose another tool if cross-platform access, RAW workflows, or batch editing are central requirements.
Photo Metadata Editor pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Covers EXIF, XMP, IPTC, and QuickTime metadata fields
- Supports common image and video formats, including HEIC and MP4
- Local OCR, backups, presets, and write verification add control
- Where it doesn't
- Windows-only availability limits cross-platform workflows
- Does not provide batch metadata editing
- RAW support is outside its documented format coverage
Photo Metadata Editor fact sheet, pricing and score →
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