mat2

removes metadata from files to protect privacy

TLDR

Remove metadata from file

$ mat2 [file.jpg]

Check for metadata (don't modify)

$ mat2 --show [file.pdf]

Remove metadata in place

$ mat2 --inplace [file.docx]

Process all files in directory

$ mat2 [*.jpg]

Remove from file keeping backup

$ mat2 [document.odt]

Lightweight cleaning (faster, less thorough)

$ mat2 --lightweight [video.mp4]

List supported formats

$ mat2 --list

Check version

$ mat2 --version

SYNOPSIS

mat2 [--show] [--inplace] [--lightweight] [options] files

mat2 (Metadata Anonymisation Toolkit 2) removes metadata from files to protect privacy. It strips identifying information from images, documents, audio, and video.
Images may contain EXIF data with camera model, GPS coordinates, timestamps, and software used. Documents embed author names, revision history, and editing times. Audio files include artist, encoding software, and recording details.
By default, mat2 creates cleaned copies with `.cleaned` suffix. Inplace mode modifies originals directly. The show option reveals metadata without modification.
Supported formats include JPEG, PNG, PDF, DOCX, ODT, MP3, MP4, FLAC, and many others. Archive formats (ZIP, TAR) are processed recursively.
Lightweight mode provides faster cleaning for formats like video where full processing is slow, at the cost of less thorough metadata removal.

PARAMETERS

--show, -s

Show metadata without removing.

--inplace, -i

Modify file in place.

--lightweight, -L

Lightweight cleaning mode.

--list, -l

List supported formats.

--check-dependencies

Check if dependencies are available.

--no-sandbox

Disable sandboxing.

--unknown-members POLICY

Handle unknown archive members (abort, omit, keep).

-v, --verbose

Verbose output.

--version

Show version.

--help

Show help.

CAVEATS

Some metadata cannot be removed without re-encoding (video). Very thorough cleaning may alter file characteristics. Some format-specific metadata may persist. Not all formats supported.

HISTORY

mat2 succeeded the original MAT (Metadata Anonymisation Toolkit) created by the Tails project. The rewrite in 2018 by Julien Voisin improved format support and reliability. It's used by journalists, activists, and privacy-conscious users.