Disclaimer

1. General information

The information on fawanews.ink, including the results produced by the Image Metadata Viewer and the explanatory articles around it, is provided for general informational purposes only.

We put reasonable care into the tool and into what we write about image metadata, but we make no representation that the site or its output is complete, current or free of error. Use of the site is at your own discretion and risk.

This Disclaimer should be read with our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

2. Tool accuracy

The tool reads the data stored in a file and translates recognised fields into readable labels. That is a reporting function, not a verification one. It does not and cannot establish whether the values it finds are truthful.

Metadata describes what a file says about itself. A camera model, a timestamp or a set of coordinates is a claim written into the file by whatever produced or last edited it — not independent proof of who took an image, when, or where.

Values may also be wrong at the source. Devices sometimes record incorrect data, apply standards inconsistently, or write fields in manufacturer-specific ways. Where the meaning of a value is not publicly documented, the tool shows what it can verify rather than guessing at an interpretation.

3. Metadata availability

Not every image contains metadata. A file with no EXIF data is a perfectly normal file, and an empty result does not indicate a fault in the tool.

Common reasons a file carries little or nothing:

• It was uploaded to and downloaded from a social network or messaging app. Most platforms strip metadata routinely, partly to reduce file size and partly to protect users.
• It is a screenshot, an export from design software, or an image generated by a program. There was never any camera data to record.
• It was saved for the web by an editor that discards metadata by default.
• Someone removed the metadata deliberately.

Metadata can also be removed or modified. Any field can be edited, added or deleted with widely available software. This means the presence of a value is not evidence that it is genuine, and the absence of a value is not evidence that it never existed.

4. EXIF limitations

Different image formats expose different metadata, and this has more effect on your results than anything else:

• JPEG and TIFF were designed around EXIF and usually carry the most detail.
• WebP can hold EXIF and XMP in extended files, but many WebP images carry none.
• PNG only occasionally carries EXIF. It more often holds text chunks and basic header details. Compressed text chunks are reported but not decoded.
• GIF and BMP have no EXIF support at all. For these you get structural information such as dimensions, colour tables and frame counts.
• HEIC and AVIF are recognised, and basic file and image details are shown, but their metadata sits in a container structure the tool does not currently decode.

Manufacturer maker notes are a further limit. Camera makers store proprietary data in undocumented formats that differ between brands and models. The tool reports that such a block exists and how large it is, rather than inventing labels for values it cannot reliably read.

Timestamps deserve particular caution. A device with an unset or incorrect clock, or one carried across time zones, records times that do not match reality, and the capture, digitised and file-modified timestamps in a single file often disagree with each other.

5. No guarantee of results

We do not guarantee that the tool will detect metadata in any particular file, that detected metadata will be complete, or that it will be interpreted correctly.

No conclusion should be drawn from a field being absent from the results. Its absence means only that the tool did not report it — because the file does not contain it, because the format does not support it, because it sits in a structure the tool does not decode, or because the file is damaged or unusually built.

Independently verify anything important. If a decision, a claim or an obligation depends on what an image contains, confirm it through another source or tool before acting on it.

6. Technical limitations

Browser capabilities affect results. The tool runs entirely in your browser, so what it can do depends on the device and software you are using. An older browser may support fewer features, and formats your browser cannot decode may not produce a visible preview even when their metadata can still be read.

Other practical limits apply:

• JavaScript must be enabled. With scripts blocked, the tool cannot function.
• Very large files are held in your device’s memory while they are parsed, which can be slow or unstable on phones and older machines. Files above the stated size limit are declined.
• Damaged, truncated or partially downloaded files may produce incomplete results or be rejected.
• The tool reads metadata only. It does not edit, strip, repair, convert or optimise files.
• Support for formats and fields may change over time as the tool is developed.

7. Privacy considerations

As currently implemented, the tool reads your image inside your own browser. Files are not uploaded to this website, and neither the file nor the metadata read from it is stored or transmitted by the tool. This is set out in full in the Privacy Policy.

Two points still deserve your attention.

First, viewing metadata does not remove it. Anything the tool shows remains attached to your file and travels with it wherever you send it. If a photo carries GPS coordinates, sharing that photo shares the coordinates too, unless you strip them or the receiving platform does.

Second, images can reveal more than expected — location, device serial numbers, author names, editing history. Handle what you find responsibly, particularly where an image relates to someone other than you, and be aware that privacy and data protection laws may apply to how you use that information.

8. Third-party services

The website is delivered using third-party infrastructure such as hosting, and may use other providers for security, form handling, analytics or advertising. Each operates under its own terms and privacy policy, which we do not control and for which we accept no responsibility.

We do not share image files or image metadata with any third party, because that data stays in your browser.

9. External links

Pages on this website link to sites we do not operate. One example is the mapping service offered when an image contains GPS coordinates: following that link is your choice, and it opens that site with the coordinates from your image.

We do not control and are not responsible for the content, accuracy, availability, security or practices of any external site. A link is not an endorsement, and visiting a linked site is at your own risk under that site’s own terms.

10. No professional advice

Nothing on this website constitutes legal, forensic, investigative, technical or professional advice, and using the tool does not create any professional relationship between you and us.

The tool is not a forensic system and its output is not evidence. It is a convenience utility for reading metadata, built for everyday use. It has no chain of custody, no tamper detection, no authentication of files, no audit trail and no validation against forensic standards.

If metadata matters for a legal case, an insurance claim, a journalistic investigation, an employment matter, an academic finding or any similar consequential purpose, engage a qualified professional using appropriate forensic tools. Do not rely on this website for those purposes.

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from your use of this website or reliance on anything it shows, including loss arising from results that are incomplete, absent, incorrect or misinterpreted, from decisions taken on the basis of them, or from the site being unavailable.

The site is provided free of charge, as it is, without warranties of any kind. The fuller statement of warranties and liability is in our Terms of Service, which applies alongside this page.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions or limitations, so parts of this section may not apply to you. Nothing here excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, and your statutory consumer rights are unaffected.

12. Changes to this disclaimer

This Disclaimer may be updated as the tool develops or as the website changes. The “last updated” date at the top of the page shows when the current version took effect, and the revised text applies from the moment it is published.

Continuing to use the website after a change means you accept the updated Disclaimer.

13. Contact

Questions about this Disclaimer, or reports of a field you believe is being read incorrectly, can be sent through the contact page. Reports of that kind are genuinely useful and are read.

Website: fawanews.ink
Contact: fawanews.ink/contact/

Related pages: Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · Cookie Policy