Signed manifest
Claim generator, actions, ingredients and signature validation belong to one provenance layer.
Adobe / C2PA manifest
Inspect Adobe credentials inside your export
Read the signed C2PA claim and ordinary Adobe metadata first. Then create a derivative copy without the embedded sections you select.
CONTEXT / EVIDENCE
Content Credentials are not ordinary EXIF
Adobe Content Credentials use C2PA: a signed claim is cryptographically bound to a particular asset. Editing the text in place breaks validation. ClearTags therefore removes supported embedded blocks from a new copy; it does not rewrite Adobe’s signed history.
Photoshop currently lets you export supported JPG and PNG files with credentials published to the Content Credentials cloud, attached to the file, or omitted. Cloud-backed credentials can be more durable than embedded metadata and may be recoverable after stripping.
To control a new Photoshop export, open Export As, enable Content Credentials, and choose whether to publish them to the cloud or attach them to the file as Adobe documents. If the export already exists, inspect that exact file here. ClearTags changes only the derivative you create; it does not change Photoshop preferences or an issuer’s cloud record.
DIRECT ANSWERS / ADOBE
Adobe Content Credentials: short answers
- ACTION
How do I remove embedded Adobe Content Credentials from a JPG or PNG?
- Load the exported JPG or PNG into ClearTags above, inspect the active C2PA claim, and select C2PA for removal. ClearTags creates a new local copy without the supported embedded manifest while preserving the original file and encoded image data.
- STRUCTURE
Why does an ordinary EXIF cleaner not remove C2PA?
- EXIF and C2PA are different container sections. Adobe Content Credentials use a signed C2PA manifest, commonly stored in JPEG JUMBF data or a PNG caBX chunk, so deleting only EXIF leaves that provenance layer in place.
- LIMIT
Does stripping the embedded manifest delete Adobe cloud credentials?
- No. Removing the embedded copy does not delete a credential published to an issuer’s cloud or remove references stored in another asset. Reinspect the output and retain the original when provenance matters.
FORMAT / CLEANUP RESULT
What can be inside each file type?
ClearTags reads the exact publishing file first. The result depends on the container and the sections actually present—not only on the filename extension.
The table describes supported container cleanup, not every proprietary field or a guarantee about a platform decision. Reinspect the clean copy before publishing.
Three layers to check
C2PA · EXIF · XMP · CONTAINERAdobe edit metadata
Creator details, application names, document IDs and edit history may also appear as ordinary XMP.
Durable credentials
Deleting an embedded copy does not necessarily delete a matching credential stored by its issuer.
Create a clean publishing copy
WORKFLOW / LOCAL COPY- 01
Export from the working file
Keep the PSD and export a separate JPG or PNG for publishing.
- 02
Read the claim
Check whether the export has an active manifest, who signed it and which actions it declares.
- 03
Remove selected sections
Choose C2PA alone or combine it with XMP, EXIF, IPTC and comments.
- 04
Reinspect the result
Confirm what is absent in the derivative instead of assuming every credential was removed.