Metadata Overview
Inspect the original bytes of a JPEG, PNG, PDF, GIF, TIFF, HEIF, or WebP file. Read structure, selected metadata claims, coverage, and Content Credentials without a file verdict.
Metadata reports what an original file contains. It inspects bounded file structure and selected metadata claims, then returns the parts it could and could not check. It does not decide whether the file is safe, authentic, or altered. The response has action=NO_DECISION and no risk score.
Use focus=metadata with mode=secure and the original encoded file. The focus accepts JPEG, PNG including APNG, WebP, GIF, classic TIFF, HEIF, and PDF. Text, office documents, and BigTIFF are not supported. Availability depends on whether this focus is enabled for your organization.
What the scan checks
| File | Evidence you can inspect |
|---|---|
| JPEG | Selected EXIF camera, software, capture-time, and GPS fix-time claims; structure and bounded comparisons. |
| PNG and WebP | Container and frame structure, metadata-carrier counts, and selected EXIF/XMP claim presence. |
| GIF | Frames and extension structure. Extension contents are not interpreted. |
| Classic TIFF | Page and directory structure, with limited EXIF/GPS time comparisons. |
| HEIF | Item structure, declared primary-image dimensions, and selected EXIF/XMP claims. Image pixels are not decoded. |
| Document Info, XMP, page structure, and distinct native image streams reached by the scan. PDF pixel streams do not recover an original photo's EXIF. |
PNG, WebP, GIF, TIFF, and HEIF reports have partial coverage by design. Read coverage.reasons and component status before interpreting a missing claim. How Metadata Decides explains the limits for each kind of evidence.
flowchart LR
F["Original image or PDF"] --> S["Bounded file inspection"]
S --> E["file_evidence<br/>structure, claims, coverage"]
F --> C["C2PA check"]
C --> R["content_credentials<br/>separate verification receipt"]
E --> N["NO_DECISION<br/>review the evidence"]
R --> NRead a finding
A Metadata finding is an observation about file claims, not a routing action. This excerpt from the synthetic JPEG sample shows two observations:
{
"action": "NO_DECISION",
"file_evidence": {
"observations": [
{ "code": "capture_time_conflict", "effect": "contradiction", "gap_band": "one_day_or_more" },
{ "code": "exif_pixel_dimensions_differ_from_current", "effect": "context" }
]
}
}The first observation says two parsed, unsigned time claims disagree. The second says the EXIF dimensions differ from the current JPEG dimensions, which can happen after a crop or export. Neither observation proves when the photo was taken or whether it was edited. The separate content_credentials receipt reports whether a C2PA claim could be verified.
Inspect your file
Select File evidence in the Playground, upload an original image or PDF, and read its coverage beside the observations.