Image Scrubber is a free, open-source privacy tool designed to anonymize digital photographs (including JPEGs) before they are shared online. Developed by software artist Everest Pipkin during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, it is specifically used to protect the identities of activists, bystanders, and sensitive locations from surveillance and facial recognition software.
The tool primarily strips metadata and provides in-browser editing to obscure identifying features. Key Features
EXIF/Metadata Removal: When a photo is taken, your device secretly embeds metadata—such as the exact GPS location, date, time, and the camera model—directly into the image file. Image Scrubber strips all of this information from the file so it cannot be used to track you.
Blur and Paint Tools: It features digital brushes that let you selectively blur faces, license plates, or identifiable tattoos and clothing. The blur tool incorporates a pixel-shuffling “noise” effect to prevent sophisticated software from reverse-engineering the obscured areas. How It Protects Your Privacy everestpipkin/image-scrubber – GitHub
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