When I try using the normal way in Windows 10, it throws an error. I have some videos I uploaded to a YouTube channel a long time ago, and I’d like to share them, but first I need to remove the metadata.
The normal way I do this for images is to right click and select “Remove Properties and Personal Information,” but when I try to do this with an mp4, it doesn’t succeed. I’ve checked the security settings to make sure I have full control over this file, which I do, but it seems impossible to remove this metadata. I’ve tried saving-as using VLC and even tried within different folders, but nothing works.
Surely there must be a tool to remove metadata from a mp4 just as there is with an image, but none of my searches have been helpful. I’d much appreciate it if anyone can help!
You can try installing Handbrake, it’s basically a user interface to make using FFmpeg easier. As far as removing all the metadata with a click, I’m not aware of anything that does that.
Honestly though, I think this is a simple enough case that you could figure it out even if you’re non-techy. The basic steps would be:
make a folder somewhere to keep everything in one place
download FFmpeg from here (this is one of the official Windows builds)
extract the 7z file you downloaded, there’s a folder inside called “bin” and inside of that should be three .exe files, one of which is just named “ffmpeg.exe”. Put that .exe into the folder you made earlier
open Notepad, copy/paste the command from my first comment into Notepad, and save it as something like “remove_metadata.bat” to your folder from earlier. In the window where you choose where to save the file, make sure you choose the file type “all files” from the drop down in order to save it as a .bat.
After setting it up, you can just put any .mp4 into the same folder, rename it INPUT.mp4, and run your .bat file by double-clicking it. It should create a new file called OUTPUT.mp4 in the same folder with all of the metadata removed.
Sorry for the late reply, but it looks like somehow Notepad++ got set as the default program to open .bat files. Right click the .bat file, choose “open with”, and you should get an option to open it with command line / cmd.
EDIT: or just change it to .cmd, which should work basically the same way.
I’ll try this, thanks! It’s really surprising though that you can’t just delete the metadata like you can with a normal file. Is there something unusual about mp4 format that disallows this?
I think it’s just that software to edit video streams is inherently more complicated than editing images. Although the metadata shouldn’t be encoded into the streams, so maybe it’s just a case of no one has gotten around to making such a program yet.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !privacyguides@lemmy.one
In the digital age, protecting your personal information might seem like an impossible task. We’re here to help.
This is a community for sharing news about privacy, posting information about cool privacy tools and services, and getting advice about your privacy journey.
You can subscribe to this community from any Kbin or Lemmy instance:
Check out our website at privacyguides.org before asking your questions here. We’ve tried answering the common questions and recommendations there!
Want to get involved? The website is open-source on GitHub, and your help would be appreciated!
This community is the “official” Privacy Guides community on Lemmy, which can be verified here. Other “Privacy Guides” communities on other Lemmy servers are not moderated by this team or associated with the website.
Moderation Rules:
We prefer posting about open-source software whenever possible.
No soliciting engagement: Don’t ask for upvotes, follows, etc.
Surveys, Fundraising, and Petitions must be pre-approved by the mod team.
Be civil, no violence, hate speech. Assume people here are posting in good faith.
Don’t repost topics which have already been covered here.
News posts must be related to privacy and security, and your post title must match the article headline exactly. Do not editorialize titles, you can post your opinions in the post body or a comment.
Memes/images/video posts that could be summarized as text explanations should not be posted. Infographics and conference talks from reputable sources are acceptable.
No help vampires: This is not a tech support subreddit, don’t abuse our community’s willingness to help. Questions related to privacy, security or privacy/security related software and their configurations are acceptable.
No misinformation: Extraordinary claims must be matched with evidence.
Do not post about VPNs or cryptocurrencies which are not listed on privacyguides.org. See Rule 2 for info on adding new recommendations to the website.
General guides or software lists are not permitted. Original sources and research about specific topics are allowed as long as they are high quality and factual. We are not providing a platform for poorly-vetted, out-of-date or conflicting recommendations.
You can try installing Handbrake, it’s basically a user interface to make using FFmpeg easier. As far as removing all the metadata with a click, I’m not aware of anything that does that.
Honestly though, I think this is a simple enough case that you could figure it out even if you’re non-techy. The basic steps would be:
make a folder somewhere to keep everything in one place
download FFmpeg from here (this is one of the official Windows builds)
extract the 7z file you downloaded, there’s a folder inside called “bin” and inside of that should be three .exe files, one of which is just named “ffmpeg.exe”. Put that .exe into the folder you made earlier
open Notepad, copy/paste the command from my first comment into Notepad, and save it as something like “remove_metadata.bat” to your folder from earlier. In the window where you choose where to save the file, make sure you choose the file type “all files” from the drop down in order to save it as a .bat.
After setting it up, you can just put any .mp4 into the same folder, rename it INPUT.mp4, and run your .bat file by double-clicking it. It should create a new file called OUTPUT.mp4 in the same folder with all of the metadata removed.
Hi, Thank you so much for your help, but when I double click the .bat file, it just opens it inside Notepad++
I made sure to select “all files” and use the .bat extension, but no dice.
Any idea why?
Here’s what my folder looks like with the mp4 renamed “INPUT.mp4”
Here’s what my .bat document looks like
I’m lost…
Sorry for the late reply, but it looks like somehow Notepad++ got set as the default program to open .bat files. Right click the .bat file, choose “open with”, and you should get an option to open it with command line / cmd.
EDIT: or just change it to .cmd, which should work basically the same way.
I too am sorry for the late reply, but thank you so much! I’ll try it again asap.
I’ll try this, thanks! It’s really surprising though that you can’t just delete the metadata like you can with a normal file. Is there something unusual about mp4 format that disallows this?
I think it’s just that software to edit video streams is inherently more complicated than editing images. Although the metadata shouldn’t be encoded into the streams, so maybe it’s just a case of no one has gotten around to making such a program yet.