The Photo Investigator Reviews

by CLMACHLE

I installed this by mistake when searching apps in my App Store, and now I’m terrified after the “free trial” it gives you that I’m going to be charged. I didn’t even want ThePhotoInvestigator; I installed it by mistake! It is extremely vague and ambiguous and gives you ZERO info about how to cancel. Now I’m going to be charged for something I can’t afford and didn’t even want in the first place! Apps like this are manipulative, exploitive, and purposely hide info so they can profit off of you. DO NOT DOWNLOAD

by Savageness101

Don't use ThePhotoInvestigator if you use Apple's iCloud library with your photos as it will delete a high-resolution photo and replace it with a low-resolution photo.

For example, if you use ThePhotoInvestigator to modify the time stored in the EXIF data on an iPad and then allow ThePhotoInvestigator to delete and replace the photo, it will force the deletion of a higher resolution photo in iCloud and replace it with a lower resolution photo. This causes the deletion and subsequent loss of the higher resolution photo that is stored on your Mac, for example. I tested this several times and got the same result each time.

As another example, say that you have cropped a photo on your iPad and then you update the time-stamp of the cropped photo using ThePhotoInvestigator. It will delete the original and you will be left with only the cropped version of the photo. There is no way to revert! And, it will be lower resolution as well.

I recommend avoiding ThePhotoInvestigator if you use Apple's iCloud Photo Library.

by LoLaMC

First, let me say that no other app I have used removes location & EXIF data as thoroughly as Investigator.
Unfortunately, ThePhotoInvestigator has a major issue that has persisted update after update: every single video edited somehow remains in the cache. It does not matter that you delete the video from the camera roll, it still remains in ThePhotoInvestigator 's cache.
So basically one has to delete & reinstall ThePhotoInvestigator every time (I edit videos, so memory adds up pretty fast).
Other than this major flaw, which I have constantly reported in my reviews (which have been deleted), this is a great app. Just so annoying to use...

by Chumstick1821

I never do this, but there’s no way through Daniel’s website to submit feedback or ask questions. So: Are there any planned updates for Investigator? I love ThePhotoInvestigator and it has been REALLY helpful in my many projects to convert VHS Home movies and have them placed in my library correctly, ditto for scanned pictures. However, its becoming obvious that the last update was a year ago. Small, obvious, and most annoying example: I can’t split screen investigator on the 12.9” iPad Pro. I have a small list of other things here that aren’t broken, they just aren’t there because of the age of ThePhotoInvestigator . I will happily update my review upon receiving your response. (For reference: I have purchased the in-app “pro” upgrade)

by Lionraider

ThePhotoInvestigator has a very nice interface that allows the user to view and edit image metadata quickly and easily. It also has a number of neat features for these edits, such as copying locations from other images or direct lat/long input. Unfortunately, it seems like it doesn’t handle certain simple things such as timestamps properly: it appears that there’s no way to set the time zone on a picture, for example, so pictures I edit from my trips show up out-of-order in my camera roll and images from lunch indicate that they were taken in the middle the night.

by Ole Jer

This particular app worked on changing the sort dates that govern the order of the photos in the iPad Phots app. Other metadata programs did not affect the date sort in that program. So, if you scanned a lot of old photos with commercial scanning services your dates will be blank and not show the proper year. It was awkward setting the year in the metadata change, but overall a good program.

by Aberrios

While this is a feature rich editor ThePhotoInvestigator needs a way to quickly remove gps metadata from multiple pictures selected instead of one at a time. Appreciate it if the developer could work on this to really make ThePhotoInvestigator number one.

by Azblatino

It’s a great, easy to use tool to check the metadata on photos and to remove it. I use it to make sure photos I’ve taken at private locations don’t have location data that could be a safety concern if the photo is shared or posted online. (Ex: where one’s kids go to school, your home address follows by a social media post that you’re out of town, etc).
It actually helped me figure out that my partner was sending me pics of him supposedly at work, but ThePhotoInvestigator helped me that the photo was taken on a different day. Even when the metadata is wiped, the absence of data can tell you that the sender scrubbed the pic before sending it. Very helpful. It may also show you the file name of the photo as the sender as it saved on their device. Ex: “fake profile pic”, “found online-not me,” etc.

by IXL247

Nice little app, not over bloated with useless features, but has everything I was looking for in metadata with a couple options I didn’t know I wanted but find myself using often... simple interface, easy to use

by Jeffh02

I'd been experiencing an update issue due to a bug in iOS 14, and the developer was quick to reply to emails and offer a workaround for the bug. Thanks, Danny! (Edit - If the "Investigate" shortcut disappears from the share sheet after updating ThePhotoInvestigator , restart your phone.)

by Cheezit1107

Shows very detailed information about photos AND videos. Frame rate, file type, file size, camera source, location taken, date created, and more. Very useful, Apple should include this information in the default Photos app.

by Home Owner1

It shows the meta information but that is if you can find the picture. The user interface for sorting the pictures makes no logical sense. I’m looking for the most recent pictures that was air dropped to me and I can’t find it even in the recently added folder. There’s like 3000+ pix to sort through.

by Qutebmw

ThePhotoInvestigator is great but how do you set it up to automatically remove the picture’s metadata after you take it? I installed ThePhotoInvestigator and I only know how to remove the data manually but when you have thousands of pictures, it could take weeks to finish.

by Alfamonk

I used ThePhotoInvestigator on a daily basis, but since the last update, I can't just use it from iPhone Photo app. The extension is gone. Sad... Please bring it back!

Later update: the developer contacted me and said It's an iOS bug. He was right. After a reboot, the extension is working again. Thanks for the tip. Now the rating is back to 5 stars!

by PavelUg

I use ThePhotoInvestigator mostly to check photo location. Click on the photo (i.e. in the Photo Library), click Share (a square with the arrow from the top), add Investigate to the actions (click Edit Actions… at the bottom), then you can click Investigate, and open Location in Google or Apple etc maps. Yes, at times it seems you need a PhD in computer science…

by Netplay

and probably a Saint!

One of the most important features that is missing from iOS is proper retention of time date location info for images and videos. This solves an issue that is completely baffling that it the issue even exists! Indispensable, thank you Daniel! Please support this developer he is providing a service that is literally invaluable since apple can't be bothered with fixing the problem!

by 27_R

Photo investigator is the best...and I've tried many. Metadata for photos AND videos. Add back GPS data to photos/videos that have been edited in other apps that remove the data (also edit many other data fields). Access photo/video data from any app with the extension...not only photos and videos saved in your camera roll. Launch ThePhotoInvestigator via URL scheme. Very responsive developer, open to ideas about what might improve ThePhotoInvestigator . Also, get the in-app purchase, it is worth it.

by Cmhawke

Update 2: autoplay issue seems fixed.

Update: A recent update forces autoplay of videos after the metadata has been loaded. Autoplay makes more sense for the preview of the video than when metadata has already been loaded. In either case, it should be made an option, not forced on the user. Knocking a star off until resolved.

Original: A great app for checking and fixing metadata. Even conveniently allows access to the Recently Deleted album which most apps used to not.

by Peanut Butter Space Monkey

Download ThePhotoInvestigator and stick it somewhere out of sight you’ll never need the actual app icon.

After you download it, go to the photos app, select a photo, tap on the share button on the bottom left corner (a square with an upward arrow coming out of it). Scroll down all the way to “edit actions” and tap the green plus button to the left of “investigate” with the magnifying glass logo ( ThePhotoInvestigator). This moves access to ThePhotoInvestigator to the top so you don’t need to scroll to get to it.

Now all you have to do to check the file format, size, other metadata is tap this share button and tap investigate. So easy.

There’s a shortcut someone shared but takes way more steps. This is a shorter cut than the shortcut.

Couldn’t ask for more. I shoot RAW with the CameraPro app and use Lightroom and often need to double check file format or size.

Thank you Photo Investigator!!!

by Iron8cres

Great app for both iPad and iPhone. I have tons of pics from older phones, some pre digital family photo scans, photoshopped pics, etc. Exif investigator makes all that wonderful invisible photo info(including the "recipe" of effects added) and allows me to add names and occasions to the caption. Great little program. Highly recommend. Your grandchildren will thank you for adding those family names.

by Darrenkcmo

You will regret, as did I, any association with this rip - off app. I’m actually surprised that Apple would allow this to exist on their App Store. I have tried multiple times clicking on the UPDATE TO REMOVE ADS button, and until I click on ThePhotoInvestigator again, the ads disappear but only then and as soon as I do ANYTHING in ThePhotoInvestigator , guess what?! The ads are right back across the top. Restart app, restart phone, reinstall - it keeps asking for money and it still shows ads. If there’s any reason for Apple to allow people to blatantly be screwed over and stolen from, I’m hoping to get that answer cuz they’re hearing from me right now. Done. Outta here

by Mysterious Lake

It does what it says and is easy to use. Two suggestions: 1. When opening the photo library, the most recent should be at the top; and 2. When landing at the location in a search, it should zoom in on the map. Hope to see these changes soon. Thanks.

by Skyrimphillip

My favorite feature your app offers is the ability to map all your photos letting me view where and when they were taken.

The only suggestion I have aside from GUI tweaks like a sleeker design and dark mode is a feature that allows the user to compare the metadata of 2 different photos side by side.

I’d like to be able to select a photo to display its preview and metadata on the left side of the screen, while being able to do the same for another photo on the right side of the screen.

The practical application to implementing this feature would be allowing users to compare similar or identical photos making it easier to decide which one(s) they want to keep/delete.

For example, I have 5 photos that look identical when previewing them in the Photos app, but I only want the one with the greatest resolution/lowest file size, and what I’d like to be able to do in Investigator is see their metadata side by side to know which 4 I should delete.

Regardless, ThePhotoInvestigator works as advertised and I’m thankful 👍