Video Metadata Viewer — Read MP4 & MOV Metadata Online

View MP4 & MOV Metadata Online — GPS, Dates, Encoder & More

MP4 and MOV (QuickTime) files store metadata in a hierarchical structure of atoms (also called boxes). Unlike EXIF in images, video metadata is not a single block — it is spread across the moov container atom and its children. This tool walks those atoms entirely inside your browser and surfaces all discoverable fields without uploading your file to any server.

What metadata can a video contain?

Creation & modification dates — stored in the mvhd(movie header) atom as seconds since 1904-01-01 (the Mac epoch). iPhones and Macs write the exact moment the recording stopped into this field.
GPS location (©xyz atom) — iPhones embed the recording location in the format +37.3317-122.0307/. This is arguably the most sensitive piece of data in a video and is invisible to most video players.
Encoding tool (©too atom) — reveals which software encoded or re-encoded the video: e.g. Apple QuickTime 7.6.2, HandBrake 1.7.0, or an iPhone model string. This can fingerprint your workflow even after stripping other metadata.
iTunes metadata (ilst atoms) — title, artist, album, genre, comment, composer, and more. Stored in files purchased from the iTunes Store and in podcasts, but also written by iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and audio recording apps.
Duration & format — calculated from the mvhd timescale and duration, and the ftyp (file type) brand.

Privacy risk: GPS in iPhone screen recordings

When you record your iPhone screen, the resulting MP4 inherits the device’s GPS coordinates at the time of recording. Sharing that file publicly — for example as a tutorial or app review — exposes your location. Check the Location category in this tool before sharing any MP4 recorded on a mobile device.

How the atom parser works

The tool reads the first 10 MB of the file as a binary buffer — enough to find the moov atom in all well-formed MP4/MOV files (the moov atom always precedes the mdat media data in a web-optimised file). It navigatesmoov → udta → meta → ilst for iTunes-style tags and moov → udta → ©xxxfor QuickTime freeform tags, decoding UTF-8 text from each data child atom. No third-party library is used — the parser is a purpose-built binary reader.

Supported formats

Any file using the MPEG-4 / QuickTime container is supported: .mp4,.mov, .m4v, and .m4a. AVI, MKV, and WebM use different container formats and are not supported by this tool.

Related tools

Use EXIF Metadata Viewer for image metadata inspection.
Use Audio Metadata Viewer to inspect MP3, FLAC, and OGG tags.
Use IPTC Metadata Viewer for editorial caption and credit fields in images.

Frequently Asked Questions

An MP4 file stores metadata in atoms (also called boxes). The most common fields are: creation and modification dates (from the mvhd atom), duration, file format brand (from ftyp), GPS location in the ©xyz atom, encoding software in the ©too atom, and iTunes editorial tags (title, artist, album, genre, comment, composer). iPhones write GPS and creation date into every video they record.

iOS embeds the device's GPS coordinates into the ©xyz atom of every MP4 it records, including screen recordings and videos shot with the Camera app. The format is a signed decimal string like +37.3317-122.0307/. This field is invisible in most video players but is trivially readable by anyone who opens the file with a metadata tool.

The ©too atom stores the name and version of the software that encoded or last re-encoded the video — for example 'Apple QuickTime 7.6.2', 'HandBrake 1.7.0', or an iPhone model string. This can fingerprint your production workflow even after all other metadata has been removed, and is flagged as sensitive in this viewer.

The creation date stored in the mvhd atom is the moment the recording ended (when the camera stopped writing the file). It uses the Mac epoch — seconds since 1904-01-01. This tool converts it to a human-readable local date and time. Note that the date reflects the device's clock at the time of recording.

Any file using the MPEG-4 / QuickTime container: .mp4, .mov, .m4v, and .m4a. AVI, MKV, WebM, and WMV use different container formats and are not supported by this tool.

View MP4 & MOV Metadata Online — GPS, Dates, Encoder & More

What metadata can a video contain?

Creation & modification dates — stored in the mvhd(movie header) atom as seconds since 1904-01-01 (the Mac epoch). iPhones and Macs write the exact moment the recording stopped into this field.

GPS location (©xyz atom) — iPhones embed the recording location in the format +37.3317-122.0307/. This is arguably the most sensitive piece of data in a video and is invisible to most video players.

Encoding tool (©too atom) — reveals which software encoded or re-encoded the video: e.g. Apple QuickTime 7.6.2, HandBrake 1.7.0, or an iPhone model string. This can fingerprint your workflow even after stripping other metadata.

iTunes metadata (ilst atoms) — title, artist, album, genre, comment, composer, and more. Stored in files purchased from the iTunes Store and in podcasts, but also written by iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and audio recording apps.

Duration & format — calculated from the mvhd timescale and duration, and the ftyp (file type) brand.