We have explained image SEO work to you in detail in our Image SEO content. On that same subject, a reader's comment about resizing brought out an important point that we needed to cover. We have always said that resizing images makes sense, but having the EXIF data stripped while you resize can be the wrong approach if you are the one producing the photograph.
If you produce the photographs yourself and you have the EXIF information of the photograph stripped, that causes you to pass over some important advantages. WordPress image optimization plugins do not strip the EXIF settings by default. If you have had the metadata stripped by mistake, remove that setting right away.
If you create the photographs yourself, do not have the EXIF data stripped.
| Plugin Name | Does it have an EXIF removal feature? | Is EXIF stripped by default? | Extra Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smush | Yes | No | The “Strip Metadata” option has to be turned on in the settings. |
| Imagify | Yes | No | The level of EXIF stripping has to be set in the optimization settings. |
| EWWW Image Optimizer | Yes | No | The EXIF removal options have to be configured in the settings. |
| ShortPixel Image Optimizer | Yes | No | The EXIF removal option has to be turned on in the advanced settings. |
| Optimole | Yes | No | The option to strip metadata, EXIF included, has to be turned on in the settings. |
If You Do Not Produce the Images Yourself, Should You Strip the EXIF Data?
Yes. If you do not produce the images yourself and you obtain them from the internet outside, the metadata will generally not be much use to you. For that reason having the EXIF data stripped can make sense. Even so, it is not easy to say strip it or do not strip it as a clean 100% rule.
The General Benefits of EXIF Data
- What EXIF data is good for (images you produce yourself): there are concrete benefits the EXIF information can bring for photographers and content producers. For example:
- Proof of copyright: the camera information and the creation date held in the EXIF data can help you prove that the image is yours.
- Organizing and archiving: EXIF data makes it easier to arrange images by date, by location or by the equipment used.
- Technical detail: information such as the aperture, the shutter speed and the ISO the photograph was taken at can be a reference for anyone who wants to take similar shots.
- The potential risks of EXIF data (images from outside sources): there are reasons why the EXIF data in images from outside sources should be removed. For example:
- Privacy worries: some EXIF data can hold location information, and that can lead to privacy problems.
- Needless size: in some cases EXIF data can raise the size of the image file for no reason.
- Where that leaves you: if you produce your own images, keeping this valuable information matters more than deleting it. But if you use images from outside sources, you may want to consider stripping the EXIF data, weighing up factors such as privacy and file size.
