Remove WebP metadata: RIFF chunks, and what stayed after a clean
Remove WebP metadata: RIFF chunks, and what stayed after a clean?
WebP wraps its image in a RIFF container with optional EXIF, XMP and ICCP chunks. This page shows a recorded clean of a WebP with alpha and EXIF, and the one block that survived. A WebP file is RIFF with a “WEBP” form type.
Last updated
WebP wraps its image in a RIFF container with optional EXIF, XMP and ICCP chunks. This page shows a recorded clean of a WebP with alpha and EXIF, and the one block that survived.
Evidence checked 2026-10-18
Where WebP keeps metadata
A WebP file is RIFF with a “WEBP” form type. Metadata chunks follow the image chunks and are flagged in the VP8X header.
| Chunk | Holds |
|---|---|
| EXIF | An EXIF block: camera, time, orientation, GPS |
| XMP | An XMP packet |
| ICCP | An ICC color profile |
| ANIM, ANMF | Animation frames, not metadata |
Reference: the WebP container specification and the ExifTool RIFF tag list.
A recorded run on a WebP with alpha and EXIF
Browser run on 2026-10-02 in Chrome/154.0.8037.92, using the live Metadata Cleaner on the homepage. The block table below was computed afterwards by this site's own parser on the input and output files, which are published with the metadata removal report.
| Block | Before (bytes) | After (bytes) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICC color profile (ICCP) | 488 | 464 | Kept |
| EXIF (RIFF chunk) | 266 | — | Removed |
Fields read before and not after: Image description = Synthetic webp alpha fixture; Orientation = Horizontal; Software = cpk-media-corpus; Pixel width = 32; Pixel height = 24. The alpha channel and the 32×24 size survived. The description text is absent from the cleaned WebP. Alpha is still present. Dimensions stayed 32x24. GPS and EXIF are absent. An ICC profile is still present. Input ICC is 480 bytes c56e1685d888f5edb92fe07f2750f387f8fe8e91b32ff8fb0b56bfbbb9458353. Output ICC is 456 bytes 12afb4d9953adee0607d347daee5b78b18d6b3cab2d572b88970703f5edb37bc. This case is partial.
Not measured here
One static 32×24 file was run. Animated WebP, a WebP with XMP, and a lossless WebP were not. A canvas export keeps a single frame, so an animated file will not stay animated. Test it before you replace an original.
Pixels are untouched, so visible text and faces stay. See the WebP metadata lab for the open test slot.
Check your own WebP
Clean a copy in the Metadata Cleaner and compare both files in Verify metadata removed. For a first look at the original use the Image Metadata Viewer. Background: what image metadata is.
FAQ
Which WebP chunks hold metadata?
EXIF and XMP (the chunk name has a trailing space). ICCP holds a color profile. A file needs the extended VP8X header for any of them.
Did the recorded clean remove the EXIF chunk?
Yes. The 266-byte EXIF chunk was gone from the output. The file went from 820 to 600 bytes.
Why does the output still have an ICC profile?
The browser's WebP encoder writes one. The input profile was 480 bytes and the output profile 456 bytes, with different hashes in the sealed report, so it is a new profile. The report marks the case partial.
Is the output lossless?
Not guaranteed. The cleaner exports WebP with quality 0.95 (source: public/js/metadata-cleaner.js). A lossless input was not tested on this page.
More tools
Metadata Cleaner · Verify metadata removed · Image Metadata Viewer · Removal benchmark