Is ExifTool better than Barecopy?

For raw power over image and media metadata, ExifTool is unmatched — it reads and writes more tags in more formats than anything else, and it is free. It is also a command-line tool, which is a wall for a lot of people, and it does not flatten tracked changes or comments inside Office documents. Barecopy trades some of that breadth for a drop-and-clean browser interface, deep cleaning of Office files, a re-scan that confirms the result, and an optional report. Different tools for different people.

Does ExifTool remove metadata from Word documents?

ExifTool can read and edit the standard document properties in Office files, but it is not designed to flatten tracked changes, remove comments and reviewer identities, or delete speaker notes — the content-level leaks inside the document XML. Barecopy focuses on exactly that, with an opt-in step and verification.

Can I run ExifTool in the browser?

Not directly — ExifTool is a Perl program you run on your own computer, which is completely private but requires installing and using a command line. Barecopy runs in the browser with nothing to install and processes files locally, so the file is never uploaded either.

Comparison · updated 2026

Barecopy vs ExifTool

ExifTool is the most capable metadata tool ever written, it is free, and it runs entirely on your own machine. If you are comfortable on a command line, you may not need anything else. This compares it with Barecopy honestly — where ExifTool wins outright, where a browser tool is the better call, and why they are good companions rather than competitors.

What ExifTool is

ExifTool, by Phil Harvey, reads and writes metadata across an enormous range of image, audio, video and document formats — more tags, more formats, and more precision than any other tool. It is a command-line program you install and run locally, so nothing is uploaded, and it is scriptable, which makes it the backbone of countless automated pipelines. For a photographer batch-editing thousands of files, or an engineer building a workflow, it is the right tool and it is not close.

We use ExifTool ourselves — as an independent check when we test that Barecopy actually removes what it says it removes. That should tell you how much we respect it.

Where a browser tool is the better call

No command line. The single biggest reason people look past ExifTool is the terminal. exiftool -all= file.jpg is simple once you know it; getting there is a wall for most non-technical users, and the flags for "remove everything, safely" are easy to get subtly wrong.
Nothing to install. Barecopy runs in a browser tab. There is no download, no PATH, no Perl, no admin rights needed on a locked-down work laptop.
Office content, not just tags. ExifTool handles the standard document properties, but it is not built to flatten tracked changes, strip comments and people.xml reviewer identities, or delete speaker notes — the recoverable content inside an Office file. That is Barecopy's focus.
See before you clean. Barecopy shows every field in plain language and lets you inspect a file without touching it — no memorising which tag names to query.
Verification and a record. Barecopy re-scans the cleaned file to confirm the fields are gone and can produce a PDF report with a SHA-256 of the clean copy — useful when you need to show a file was cleaned, not just assert it.

Both tools keep your file on your own machine — ExifTool because it runs locally, Barecopy because it runs in your browser and a Content-Security-Policy blocks it from sending file contents anywhere. Neither uploads your file. If a tool asks you to upload a sensitive file to "clean" it, that is the one to be wary of.

Side by side

	ExifTool	Barecopy
Interface	Command line	Drop & click, in-browser
Nothing to install	Install required	Yes
Breadth of image / media tags	Unmatched	Common fields
Scriptable / automatable	Yes	Nointeractive tool
Flatten tracked changes in Office	Not its purpose	Yes, opt-in
Remove comments & reviewer identities	Not its purpose	Yes
Plain-language inspection	Tag names	Yes
Re-scan to confirm clean	Manual re-query	Automatic
Report of what was removed	No	Yesoptional PDF + SHA-256
Runs locally, no upload	Yes	Yes
Price	Free	Free tierPro €4/mo for batch

ExifTool is free and open source; if the command line is not a barrier for you, it is an excellent choice and this page is not trying to talk you out of it.

How to think about it

If you live in a terminal, or you need to process files by the thousand in a script, use ExifTool. If you want to hand a colleague a link they can use without training, clean an Office file's tracked changes and comments as well as its properties, or produce a verified record that a file was cleaned, Barecopy is built for that. Many people will use both: ExifTool in a pipeline, Barecopy for the one-off sensitive document a non-technical teammate needs to send today.

Try it

Clean a file without opening a terminal

Drop a document or photo on Barecopy. It shows what the file reveals, removes it, and re-scans to confirm — all in your browser, nothing uploaded.

Open Barecopy →

Frequently asked

Is ExifTool more powerful than Barecopy?

On raw image and media metadata, yes — nothing beats it, and it is free. Barecopy trades some of that breadth for approachability, Office content cleaning, verification and a record. They are aimed at different people and different jobs.

Does ExifTool clean tracked changes in Word?

It is not designed to. ExifTool edits metadata tags; flattening tracked changes, removing comments and reviewer identities and deleting speaker notes is document-surgery that Barecopy does specifically.

Is this comparison biased?

We make Barecopy, so it is a considered case rather than a neutral one — but we genuinely admire ExifTool and use it to verify our own results. The honest split is approachability and Office depth versus breadth and scriptability.

More guides

Remove EXIF and GPS data from photos → Barecopy vs Word's Document Inspector →