Metadata cleaner for WindowsReveals hidden data100% on device
See what your files are secretly carrying.
That holiday photo knows exactly where it was taken. That Word doc still has the comments you thought you deleted. That download still remembers which site it came from. Scrubbr reveals the hidden metadata your files are quietly carrying, then strips it with one click. Entirely on your PC. Nothing is ever uploaded.
v1.0.0 beta · Windows 10 (1809+) & 11 · 64-bit · Installs without admin rights · No account
01 How it works
Drop it. See it. Scrub it.
Drop it in
Drag a photo, PDF, Office document, video or audio file onto the window from File Explorer, or a whole folder, and Scrubbr recurses in and adds every supported file. Ctrl O to browse, Ctrl V to paste.
See what it reveals
Scrubbr shows the hidden metadata each file is carrying, grouped and in plain English, with anything sensitive, like GPS, author, or tracked changes, flagged in red.
Scrub
One click strips it: GPS and EXIF off photos, authorship and XMP off PDFs, comments and tracked changes out of Office docs, the QuickTime GPS tag off video, ID3 tags off audio.
Keep the clean copy
Scrubbr writes a clean (scrubbed) copy next to the original. Your source file is never overwritten or deleted. Show it in File Explorer and share it safely.
02 Features
Nothing leaves your files that you didn't see first.
One focused window that shows you the hidden metadata other tools quietly ignore, then removes it, without ever sending a file to the cloud.
The reveal comes first
Drop a file and Scrubbr lists the hidden metadata it's carrying (grouped into Location, Identity, Device, History and Timestamps) with anything privacy-sensitive flagged in red and explained plainly ("reveals where this file has been"). You see the scary stuff before you strip it.
The reveal
Strip GPS from photos
JPG, PNG, HEIC, TIFF and GIF: the GPS coordinates come off along with the rest of the EXIF (camera make, model and serial, software, timestamps). Scrubbr re-encodes just the pixels to a fresh file, keeps the ICC color profile and bakes in the orientation, so the photo looks identical.
EXIF · GPS
The mark of the web
Windows quietly tags every downloaded file with a hidden
Windows only
Zone.Identifier stream, often including the exact URL you downloaded it from. Scrubbr surfaces it under History, and clean copies never carry it. Most metadata tools don't even look.Clean PDFs, honestly
Clears a PDF's document info dictionary and XMP (author, creator, the producing app, title and dates) and re-blanks the generic values a writer re-stamps on save. It doesn't rewrite deep embedded object streams, and Scrubbr tells you so rather than overpromising.
Author · dates · XMP
Office comments & tracked changes
DOCX, XLSX and PPTX: author, company, last-editor and revision blanked. With the option on, Scrubbr deletes the comment parts and accepts every tracked change (keeping inserted text, dropping deleted text) leaving clean, valid OOXML. Formatting and tables are preserved.
Comments · revisions
Video & audio, byte for byte
The QuickTime GPS tag (the big phone location leak) plus make/model and dates come off MP4, MOV, M4V and M4A. Scrubbr blanks those boxes in place rather than re-muxing, so the media bytes are identical and the file size never changes. MP3 and AAC get ID3v2 and legacy ID3v1 stripped.
QuickTime GPS · ID3
Folders & bulk drops
Drop a whole folder and Scrubbr recurses in, adds every supported file with a progress bar, and headlines the risk at a glance: "3 of 7 files reveal your location." Checkbox-select the ones you want and Scrub selected, or Scrub all.
Privacy summary
Your original is never touched
Every scrub writes a new "(scrubbed)" copy next to the original. If that name is already taken, Scrubbr picks a unique one rather than overwrite. Nothing is ever destroyed.
Non-destructive
Or replace in place, safely
Opt-in: overwrite the file where it lives and keep an "(original)" backup right beside it. Never lossy, off by default. If the source folder is read-only, Scrubbr offers to save the clean copy in a folder you pick instead of failing.
Keeps a backup
Strip exactly what you want
Choose Everything, or Location only to drop the GPS but keep the camera info. Toggle comment and tracked-change removal and color-profile keeping. Your choices are remembered across launches.
100% on your PC
No file (and no metadata) ever leaves your computer. No account, no cloud, no usage analytics. Web scrubbers make you upload private files to someone else's server; Scrubbr never does. The only network calls are the optional license check and update check.
Privacy
13 languages
English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (BR), Dutch, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Korean. Scrubbr follows your Windows display language automatically, and you can pin a different one from the globe button.
Localized
Built for everyone
Fully keyboard-driven (add with Ctrl O, paste from File Explorer with Ctrl V, scrub everything with Ctrl ↵) with Narrator labels and live announcements, Windows High Contrast support, reflow with no horizontal scrolling, and measured WCAG 2.1 AA contrast in light and dark.
WCAG 2.1 AA
03 Reads & cleans
JPG
PNG
HEIC
TIFF
GIF
PDF
DOCX
XLSX
PPTX
MP4
MOV
M4V
M4A
MP3
AAC
04 Beta
You're testing the first Windows build.
Scrubbr has been on the Mac for a while. This is the Windows port's first public build: same engine guarantees, rebuilt on Windows APIs.
What would help most
Drag & drop, for real
From File Explorer, from the desktop, from a search-results list, from a network drive. Single files, multi-select, whole folders.
Files you actually own
Your own photos, your own documents. Check the reveal against what you know is in the file, and tell me if a clean copy still has something in it.
The install itself
Whether SmartScreen let you through, whether the shortcut and taskbar icon look right, whether uninstall leaves anything behind.
Anything that looks wrong
Clipped text, a scrollbar where there shouldn't be one, an odd translation, a dialog you couldn't reach with the keyboard.
06 Pricing
Free. For everyone.
Scrubbr is free for everyone, at home and at work. No license, no account, no nag screens, no watermarks, ever.
Personal
Free forever
For individuals and personal projects
- The full app, every feature
- No account, no nag screens
- Free updates forever
At work
Free commercial too
No license, no subscription
- Everything in Personal
- Use it commercially at work, free
- No license to buy, ever
- Free updates forever
Scrubbr is free for everyone, including commercial use at work. There is no license to buy and no subscription. The same app runs on the Mac and Windows builds.
07 Download & install
Get set up in about a minute.
Run the installer and Scrubbr lands in your own user folder: no admin password, no UAC prompt, nothing else to install.
Version 1.0.0 beta · Scrubbr-Setup.exe · about 19 MB · Free updates forever
Windows 10 (version 1809 or later) or Windows 11 · 64-bit
Everything Scrubbr needs is inside the installer: no Python, no runtime to chase down. It does use the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime to draw its interface, which ships with Windows 11 and reaches almost every Windows 10 machine through Windows Update. On the rare PC without it, Scrubbr will say so on launch and Microsoft's free installer is a one-click fix.
No admin rights needed
Scrubbr installs per-user into
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Scrubbr, so there's no UAC prompt and no argument with your IT department. Uninstall from Settings → Apps → Installed apps like anything else.Windows may warn you the first time. Here's the honest story.
Scrubbr is Authenticode-signed, so the publisher shows as a real, verified name rather than "Unknown publisher." But signing alone does not switch SmartScreen off: Microsoft builds reputation per file, and a brand-new build starts with none. Until this exact file has been downloaded enough times, you may still see a blue "Windows protected your PC" box.
- Click More info
- Check the publisher name shown
- Click Run anyway
08 FAQ
Common questions.
Is Scrubbr really free?
Personal use is free forever: every file type, unlimited files, no account, no trial timer, no watermarks. It is free for commercial use at work too, with no license to buy and no account.
What does the reveal actually show me?
Drop a file and Scrubbr lists the hidden metadata it's carrying (grouped into Location, Identity, Device, History and Timestamps) with anything privacy-sensitive flagged in red and explained in plain English, like "reveals where this file has been." You see exactly what's there before you decide to strip it.
Does Scrubbr upload my files anywhere?
No. Every reveal and every scrub runs entirely on your PC: no file, and no metadata, ever leaves your computer. There is no account and no usage analytics. The only time Scrubbr contacts our server is to check for updates, which sends the app version.
Will Scrubbr change or delete my original files?
Never by default. Every scrub writes a new "(scrubbed)" copy next to the original, and if that name is taken Scrubbr picks a unique one rather than overwrite. There is an opt-in Replace original mode that overwrites in place, but even then it keeps an "(original)" backup right beside the file.
What files can it read and clean?
Photos (JPG, PNG, HEIC, TIFF, GIF), PDFs, Office documents (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX), video (MP4, MOV, M4V, M4A) and audio (MP3, AAC). Anything else gets a friendly "Scrubbr can't read this type yet."
What's this "Zone.Identifier" thing?
When you download a file, Windows attaches a hidden alternate data stream called
Zone.Identifier, the "mark of the web." It's what makes Office open documents in Protected View, and it frequently records the exact URL the file came from. Forward that file to someone and you may be forwarding your browsing history with it. Scrubbr shows it under History, and the clean copies it writes never carry it.Does it really remove Word comments and tracked changes?
Yes. With "Remove comments & tracked changes" on, Scrubbr deletes the comment parts (and their relationships and anchors) and accepts every tracked change (keeping the inserted text, dropping the deleted text, and removing the revision markup) leaving clean, valid OOXML. Your formatting and tables are preserved.
Can it strip the GPS location from my photos?
Yes, that's the headline case. Scrubbr removes GPS coordinates along with the rest of the EXIF (camera make, model and serial, software, timestamps) by re-encoding just the pixels to a fresh file. The color profile is kept and the orientation is baked in, so the photo looks identical. Prefer to keep the camera info? Switch to Location only to drop just the GPS.
Will my video be re-encoded or lose quality?
No, and this build is stricter about it than the Mac one. Rather than re-muxing the file, Scrubbr renames the metadata boxes to padding and zeroes them in the copy. The audio and video streams come out byte-for-byte identical and the file size doesn't change at all.
Is everything removed from a PDF?
Scrubbr clears a PDF's document info dictionary and XMP (author, creator, the producing app, title and dates) and re-blanks the generic values a PDF writer re-stamps on save. It does not rewrite deep embedded object streams, and the app tells you so honestly rather than pretending a PDF is scrubbed cleaner than it is.
Why did Windows show a blue "protected your PC" warning?
Because the file is new, not because it's unsigned. SmartScreen builds trust per file over downloads and time, and a fresh build starts from zero. Code signing gives you a verified publisher name in the dialog but does not skip it. Click More info → check the publisher → Run anyway. See the install section for the full explanation.
How do I update Scrubbr?
It updates itself. Scrubbr quietly checks about once a week and badges the update button when there's something new (never a pop-up), and you can turn the check off. Click it and Scrubbr downloads the new installer, verifies its signature and version before running anything, installs over itself and reopens. If any of those checks fail it deletes the download and sends you here instead. Your settings carry over.
How is this different from the Mac version?
Same app, same reveal, same strip guarantees: the engine was rebuilt on Windows APIs rather than macOS ones. Two things are genuinely different: this build reads and strips the Windows mark-of-the-web stream, which has no Mac equivalent, and it updates itself in place, where the Mac build asks you to re-download.
Where do my settings live, and what does uninstalling remove?
Preferences sit in
%APPDATA%\Scrubbr. Uninstalling removes the app from %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Scrubbr; delete those two if you want every trace gone. Nothing is written outside your user account, and nothing goes in the registry beyond the uninstall entry.