Strip Metadata from Midjourney Images Before Sharing

I've been a Midjourney subscriber since the early days of v4. Over the years, I've generated thousands of images — character concepts for a tabletop RPG campaign, reference art for client projects, mood boards, and just-for-fun experiments. Midjourney is my favorite AI image tool, and I use it almost daily.

But here's something most Midjourney users don't realize: every single image you download from the platform comes with embedded C2PA metadata that records exactly how the image was made. And if you post those images on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn, platforms can detect that metadata and label your content as "Made with AI."

I learned this the hard way. Here's my personal workflow for cleaning Midjourney images before sharing them.

Why Midjourney Adds Metadata

Midjourney started embedding C2PA Content Credentials in their images as part of an industry push toward content provenance. The idea is that anyone should be able to verify when and how an image was generated, which theoretically helps combat misinformation and deepfakes.

I understand the intention. But in practice, this means every image I download from Midjourney carries a hidden data payload that includes:

Prompt text — The full prompt I used, including any sensitive or proprietary details
Generation parameters — Version number, aspect ratio, stylization values, quality settings
Generation timestamp — Exactly when the image was created
Tool identification — That the image was generated by Midjourney
User identifier — Information linking the image to my account

When I first inspected a Midjourney image with our Metadata Viewer, I was genuinely surprised by how much information was in there. The prompt text alone was concerning — I sometimes use prompts that reference client project details, brand names, or creative directions I don't want publicly visible.

The Day Instagram Ruined My Post

The incident that made me take metadata seriously happened a few months ago. I'd created a series of environmental concept art pieces for a fantasy game project using Midjourney v6. I edited them in Photoshop, added some hand-painted details, and posted the final pieces on Instagram as part of my portfolio.

Every single one got the "Made with AI" label.

The labels appeared despite hours of manual editing. The C2PA manifest from Midjourney had survived through Photoshop's export process and Instagram detected it. My potential clients saw "Made with AI" before they even saw my caption explaining the creative process.

That's when I decided to build a reliable cleaning workflow.

What's Inside Midjourney's C2PA Manifests

Using the Metadata Viewer, I dug into what exactly Midjourney embeds. Here's what I typically find in a downloaded Midjourney PNG:

C2PA manifest containing:

claim_generator: "Midjourney"
actions: Multiple actions including "drawn" and assertions about AI generation
timestamp: ISO 8601 formatted generation time

XMP packet containing:

dc:creator: Sometimes populated
xmp:CreatorTool: "Midjourney"
Custom namespaces with generation parameters

EXIF data (minimal):

ExifIFD:Software: Sometimes references Midjourney

The C2PA manifest is the primary trigger for platform AI labels. The XMP and EXIF data are secondary signals but worth cleaning too.

My Step-by-Step Cleaning Process

Here's the exact workflow I use for every Midjourney image before I post it anywhere:

Step 1: Download the Image

I download the image from Midjourney as usual (PNG format, highest resolution). This is my "original" file, which I keep archived in a separate folder.

Step 2: Inspect the Metadata

I upload the image to the Metadata Viewer to see what's embedded. This confirms that C2PA and XMP data are present and shows me the exact contents. It's a good habit — I've occasionally found metadata I didn't expect.

Step 3: Strip the Metadata

I use the Remove Midjourney Metadata tool, which is specifically designed to handle Midjourney's metadata format:

Open the tool in my browser.
Drag and drop the Midjourney PNG onto the upload area.
The tool identifies and removes:
- C2PA manifests from the PNG caBX chunk
- XMP packets from the PNG iTXt chunk
- EXIF data from the PNG eXIf chunk
Download the cleaned image.

The whole process takes about 5 seconds.

Step 4: Verify the Removal

I re-upload the cleaned image to the Metadata Viewer to confirm all metadata is gone. I specifically check that:

No C2PA manifests are found
No XMP packets remain
No EXIF software fields reference Midjourney

Step 5: Edit and Post

Now I can edit the cleaned image in Photoshop, add it to a design in Figma, or post it directly — all without worrying about AI labels appearing on my posts.

Handling Batch Downloads

Midjourney makes it easy to download multiple images, but cleaning them one at a time is tedious. When I export a batch of images from a project, I use the Remove AI Metadata tool's batch upload feature. I can drop 20 images at once, and it processes them all in parallel. This saves me enormous time when I'm preparing a full portfolio post or client presentation.

Tips for Midjourney Users

Save your prompts separately. Once you strip the C2PA manifest, the prompt text goes with it. If you want to reuse or document your prompts, copy them from Discord or the Midjourney web interface before cleaning the images.

Clean before editing, not after. I used to clean my images after editing them in Photoshop, until I realized some versions of Photoshop can add their own C2PA manifests during export. Now I clean first, edit second, and verify after editing.

PNG is the safest format. I always download as PNG from Midjourney. JPEG downloads sometimes have different metadata structures that can be trickier to clean fully.

Check upscaled images too. When you upscale an image in Midjourney, the new download has its own C2PA manifest. Don't assume that because you cleaned the source image, the upscaled version is also clean.

Why I Still Use Midjourney Despite the Metadata

None of this is a criticism of Midjourney. It's still the best AI image generation tool I've used, and the C2PA metadata is a side effect of the industry moving toward provenance standards. The metadata doesn't affect image quality or my ability to use the images commercially (subject to Midjourney's terms).

The solution isn't to stop using Midjourney — it's to have a reliable cleaning step in your workflow. With the Remove Midjourney Metadata tool and the Remove AI Metadata tool for batch processing, cleaning images is faster than resizing them. And the Metadata Viewer lets me verify everything is gone before I post.

My rule is simple: no Midjourney image goes online without a cleaning pass. It's not paranoia — it's professionalism.