Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Photo Metadata Utility Developer Gets "The Big Picture"


The SuperUtils company is one of the first software developers to spell out both pro and con arguments for the removal of embedded photo metadata. It is nice to see developers moving in this direction, as too many are intent to spread FUD (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt) regarding "privacy" in terms of the information that may be divulged in the metadata of a digital image. It would be great if more developers took a similar approach.

Until we have tools that allow for the selective removal of metadata, the prudent approach would be to preserve all the information that is present in the image. If metadata is to be removed; then, at minimum, the person processing, saving, or uploading the image should be warned that this removal is about to happen and/or be informed about the consequences of their actions.