🧹 Build a Desktop Image Metadata Cleaner in Python (MetaClean v2)

Ever shared a photo online without realizing it contains hidden data like GPS location, camera model, or timestamps?

In this tutorial, we’ll build MetaClean — a Python desktop app that removes EXIF metadata from images while keeping visual quality intact.

👉 Try MetaClean here:
https://gum.new/gum/cmki9hb0s000204l402y17n9c

By the end, you’ll have:

✅ A drag-and-drop desktop app
✅ Batch image processing
✅ Metadata preview
✅ Safe overwrite with backups
✅ Exportable cleanup reports

Let’s get started.

🛠 Requirements

Install Python 3.9+ and then:

pip install pillow ttkbootstrap tkinterdnd2

What these do:

pillow → image handling

tkinter → GUI (built into Python)

ttkbootstrap → modern UI styling

tkinterdnd2 → drag & drop support

📁 Project Structure

Create a new folder:

metaclean/
├── app.py
└── logo.ico (optional)

All code goes inside app.py.

Step 1 — Imports & Constants

Start with basic imports and app metadata.

import os, sys, threading, json, platform, shutil
import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import filedialog, messagebox
from datetime import datetime
from PIL import Image, ExifTags, ImageOps
import ttkbootstrap as tb

Optional drag & drop:

try:
    from tkinterdnd2 import TkinterDnD, DND_FILES
    DND_ENABLED = True
except ImportError:
    DND_ENABLED = False

Why?

We gracefully fall back if drag & drop isn’t installed.

Step 2 — Create the Main App Class

Using a class keeps everything organized.

class MetaCleanApp:
    APP_NAME = "MetaClean"
    APP_VERSION = "2.0.0"
    SUPPORTED_EXT = (".png", ".jpg", ".jpeg", ".webp", ".bmp", ".tiff")

Step 3 — Initialize the Window

def __init__(self):
    if DND_ENABLED:
        self.root = TkinterDnD.Tk()
    else:
        self.root = tk.Tk()

    self.style = tb.Style(theme="darkly")
    self.root.title("MetaClean v2.0")
    self.root.geometry("1000x620")

Here we:

Create the root window

Apply dark theme

Set size and title

Step 4 — Logging & App Directories

We store logs and backups safely in the user’s home folder.

self.home_dir = os.path.expanduser("~")
self.log_dir = os.path.join(self.home_dir, ".metaclean")
os.makedirs(self.log_dir, exist_ok=True)

Logging helper:

def log_error(self, msg):
    with open(self.log_file, "a") as f:
        f.write(f"{datetime.now()} {msg}\n")

Step 5 — Reading Image Metadata

def read_metadata(self, path):
    img = Image.open(path)
    exif = img.getexif()

    if not exif:
        return "No metadata found."

    lines = []
    for tag, val in exif.items():
        name = ExifTags.TAGS.get(tag, tag)
        lines.append(f"{name}: {val}")

    return "\n".join(lines)

Step 6 — Removing Metadata Safely

def strip_metadata(self, src, dst):
    img = Image.open(src)
    img = ImageOps.exif_transpose(img)

    data = list(img.getdata())
    clean = Image.new(img.mode, img.size)
    clean.putdata(data)

    clean.save(dst, icc_profile=img.info.get("icc_profile"))

This guarantees all metadata is removed.

Step 7 — Image Selection

def add_images(self):
    files = filedialog.askopenfilenames()
    for f in files:
        self.image_listbox.insert(tk.END, f)

Step 8 — Batch Cleanup Logic

def run_cleanup(self):
    files = self.image_listbox.get(0, tk.END)
    for src in files:
        dst = src + "_clean.jpg"
        self.strip_metadata(src, dst)

Step 9 — Export Reports

JSON:

json.dump(self.cleanup_results, f, indent=2)

TXT:

f.write(f"{k}: {v}\n")

Step 10 — Run the App

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = MetaCleanApp()
    app.run()

✅ Final Result

You now have a full desktop metadata cleaner with batch support, previews, backups, and exportable reports.

If you’d like to try the polished build of MetaClean v2:

👉 https://gum.new/gum/cmki9hb0s000204l402y17n9c