Do I really need this? What it strips Maneo apps FAQ Articles Support

A little privacy. A lot more personal.

Skrim. Send something
just for them.

Hide an encrypted image inside an ordinary photo. Only your device and your chosen recipient can reveal it.

Download on App Store How it works ↘

On your device. For your chosen person.
For iPhone & iPad · Receiving is free.

Private
ConcealReveal

An ordinary photo.
A little more inside.

Illustrated cover photo of a quiet evening at home

The cover is all everyone else sees.

iPhone frame

Tap the eye. See the idea.Illustrative demo — not an encrypted file.

Made by Maneo House Some things aren't for everyone. More ways to make it yours ↓
Private · encrypted images

Looks like a photo.
Opens just for them.

Hide an encrypted image inside a cover photo. Choose a saved contact before concealing: only your device and that recipient can reveal the hidden image. Choose “My phone only” when it is just for you.

Exchange contact cards

Share your Skrim card, save theirs, and compare safety codes with that person before sending privately. Cards contain public security keys, not your private key.

Conceal, send, reveal

Choose a cover image, a hidden image and who can open it. Send the original file: apps that shrink or re-save photos can erase what is hidden inside. Receiving and contact setup are free.

Keep the reveal private

Optionally protect reveals with Face ID. Tap the eye to switch back to the cover photo. Saving a revealed image creates an unprotected copy. Device-key recovery and transfer are not available yet.

Create also includes photo cutouts and text stickers with transparent PNG export. Five shared free actions daily; the onboarding photo cleanup is a free demonstration.

go off-road post your face strip it hide your address poison the well go ghost no trace off platform
— go ghost
What the toggle leaves — and what the platform keeps

Apple's "remove location" only scrubs your GPS. The other twenty-four tags stay attached. Camera serial. Lens model. Timestamp to the second. Software build. Altitude. Speed. And the platform? It still has your original.

The question every creator asks
"Doesn't Instagram already strip my EXIF?"

Platforms strip what your followers see — not what they keep, and not where you go next.

Skrim is the protection for going off-road.

001 · Location
GPS Coordinates
39.952584°N
75.165222°W
Decimal degreesExposed
002 · Device
Camera Model
iPhone 15 Pro Max
"iPhone15,3"
Identifies your hardwareExposed
It doesn't matter what you erase from the caption. The photo bytes already told them.
003 · Optics
Lens Model
iPhone 15 Pro Max back triple camera 6.765mm f/1.78
Down to the millimeterExposed
004 · Identity
Body Serial
F2LXXXR9PNJF
Unique to your phoneExposed
005 · Timing
Timestamp
2024:12:25
02:07:33
UTC -05:00
Original capture momentExposed
006 · OS
Software
iOS 18.2 · build 22C150
Reveals OS stateExposed
007 · Movement
Altitude + Speed
12.4m above sea level
0.0 km/h (still)
Were you running?Exposed
008 · Settings
ISO / Aperture
ISO 1600 · f/1.78
1/30s · WB Auto
Camera stateExposed
009 · Image
Resolution + Color Space
4032 × 3024 · sRGB · DPI 72 · Orientation 6
Pixel signatureExposed
010 · And more
+15 hidden tags
All stripped
in one tap.
Skrim removes everythingClean
strip it

Remove every tag. Photo goes out clean. The receiver sees your image — never your fingerprint.

→
scramble it

Replace metadata with believable fakes. The photo still has tags — just none of them are yours. Poison the well.

→
Disguise walkthrough

Four taps to disguise.
one tap to revert.

Photo Disguise doesn't make a copy. It overwrites the photo's pixels in place, in your library, using Apple's content-editing system — the same one Photos.app uses for its own edits. Which means the original is preserved by iOS and restorable at any time.

  1. 01
    Protect tab

    Pick what to hide

    Open Protect. Switch the mode toggle to Disguise. Pick the source photos you want to cover — one at a time or a batch of up to 50.

  2. 02
    Decoy

    Pick the decoy

    Tap the decoy chip. Pick any photo from your library — a landscape, a stock shot, anything. Those are the pixels your camera roll will show instead.

  3. 03
    Disguise

    Apply the swap

    Tap Disguise N Photos. Skrim routes each source through Apple's content-editing API. Camera roll updates to show the decoy. The original is preserved by iOS, off-screen.

  4. 04
    Revert anytime

    Revert when you want

    Open Skrim → Protect → "My edited photos" (or Settings → Edited Photos). Or use Photos.app's three-dot menu → "Revert." Apple's system restores the unmodified original.

Why we trust the revert

Apple keeps
the original.

When an app edits a photo through Apple's content-editing API, iOS stores the unmodified original alongside the edit. Photos.app's own crop / filter / markup tools work this way. Disguise piggybacks on it: we never have to back up your original ourselves, and Apple's "Revert to Original" works on every disguised photo whether you tap it inside Skrim or inside Photos.

Inside the app

Four tabs.
no menus, no maze.

Protect
Photo tools
  • Strip — remove hidden tags
  • Scramble — fake the tags
  • Inject — add tags to a clean photo
  • Disguise — swap the pixels
  • Revert any disguised photo
Create
Live Photos + stickers
  • Turn videos and GIFs into Live Photos
  • Create photo cutouts and text stickers
  • Choose a still frame, loop motion or change playback speed
  • Pick location, device and date
  • Works on AI clips, screen recordings, drone footage
Settings
Settings + history
  • Default disguise location + device
  • Disguised photos — review and revert
  • Lifetime stats
  • Ghost Mode upgrade + redeem code
Private
Encrypted image sharing
  • Hide an encrypted image inside a cover photo
  • Select your recipient or this device only
  • Exchange contact cards and verify safety codes
  • Optional Face ID before revealing
  • Receive private images for free

Same photo.
two stories.

Left: what your phone sends. Right: what Skrim sends. Same pixels, no fingerprint.

Before Original photo with hidden metadata exposed GPS · 39.95°N 75.16°W iPhone 15 Pro Max Lens · 6.765mm f/1.78 Serial · F2LXXXR9 02:07:33 · iOS 18.2 + 19 more tags
After Same photo with all metadata stripped

The photo bytes are identical. The hidden tags are gone. Recipient sees your image, never your fingerprint.

Ghost Mode
unlocks all of it.

Photo privacy tools, Live Photo creation and reversible disguises — all in one app.

Live Photo Builder
Turn any video into a paired Live Photo with metadata you control.
Video → Live disguise
Hide a video clip inside a Live Photo. Decoy still on top.
Photo Disguise
Swap any photo's pixels for a decoy. Revert in-app any time.
Unlimited strips
No daily limit. Process as many photos as you want.
Batch up to 50
Select an entire album. One tap. Done.
Scramble Mode
Replace metadata with believable fakes. Poison the well.
Share extension
Strip from any app via the iOS share sheet.
iMessage built-in
Strip + send without leaving the conversation.
Resize for social
Auto-resize to 1080px for IG, X & Reddit.
Compression control
Shrink file size with no visible loss.
HEIC → JPG
iPhone photos open everywhere — Android, Windows, web.
The Maneo family

Three apps.
One house.

Independent apps for your media, photo privacy, private sharing and nutrition. Visit each app’s site for features, availability and support.

LocStream
Your movies and shows in a personal library for Mac, iPhone and iPad.
Explore LocStream
Skrim
Create Live Photos and stickers, remove identifying photo details, and hide encrypted images inside cover photos for your chosen recipient.
Explore Skrim
Calidus
Supercharge your health goals by tracking your macros. Always free.
Explore Calidus
Frequently asked

The questions
everyone asks first.

What is the new Live Photo Builder?+
The Live Photo Builder turns any video into a paired Live Photo. Pick a clip from your camera roll, scrub to the moment you want as the still frame, and Skrim packages it as a Live Photo with the location, device and date you choose. Works on AI-generated clips, screen recordings, drone footage — anything iOS can play. Free tier includes 5 shared actions each day; Ghost Mode unlocks unlimited.
How does the photo disguise tool work? Can I revert it?+
Photo Disguise replaces the visible pixels of any photo — Live or still — with a decoy you choose from your library. Your camera roll shows the disguise, but Skrim keeps the original safely inside the app. You can revert any disguised photo back to its original in one tap, any time. Everything happens on-device.
How is video-to-Live disguise different from Scramble Mode?+
Scramble replaces a photo's hidden metadata with believable fakes. Video-to-Live disguise goes further — it hides an actual video clip inside a Live Photo that visually looks like a different still. The decoy still shows in your camera roll; long-press reveals the motion. After applying the disguise Skrim walks you through turning "Live Off" for that image in the Photos app so a swipe-through can't auto-play the hidden clip.
How do I keep the original clip after disguising a Live Photo?+
Before turning Live off in Photos, open the disguised Live Photo and tap Share → Save as Video. The original recording is preserved as a regular video in your library, so even if you toggle Live off (or later delete the Live Photo) the real clip lives on.
What is EXIF data on an iPhone photo?+
EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a block of hidden metadata stored inside every photo. On iPhone it typically includes GPS coordinates accurate to the meter, a camera serial number unique to your device, lens model, timestamp accurate to the second, iOS build, aperture, ISO, altitude, and the speed you were moving when the shot was taken. Recipients of your photo can read all of it. Full breakdown →
Does iPhone's "Remove Location" toggle strip all metadata?+
No. Apple's toggle (iOS 15+) only removes GPS coordinates. The other 24+ tags — camera serial, lens model, timestamp, iOS build, aperture, ISO, altitude, speed — stay attached. Skrim removes all of them. What Apple doesn't strip →
How do I remove EXIF data from an iPhone photo?+
Install Skrim. Open the app, tap the + button, pick the photo, tap Strip. The cleaned photo is saved to Photos with every tag removed. Or use the iOS Share Sheet from any app — Photos, Messages, Mail, Files: tap Share, tap Skrim, photo goes through clean. Everything happens on your device.
Doesn't Instagram already strip my EXIF?+
Platforms strip what your followers see — not what the platform keeps, and not where photos go next. Instagram still holds your original with full metadata on its servers; a breach, a subpoena, or a curious employee sees the unstripped version. And the moment a photo leaves the app — a DM, AirDrop, Discord "Document" send, Telegram, email, your own site, or a direct sale — nothing strips it for you. Pro rule: never outsource your safety to a platform. Strip client-side, before you send. Platform-by-platform breakdown →
Does Skrim upload my photos to a server?+
No. Every photo is processed locally on your iPhone. There are no servers, no accounts, no logging, no tracking. The cleaned photo never leaves your device until you send it.
What is Scramble Mode?+
Scramble replaces your photo's metadata with believable fakes — different camera, different lens, different timestamp. The photo still has tags, but none of them are yours. Useful when an empty metadata block would itself look suspicious, or when you want to poison the well. Scramble vs Strip →
Does Skrim work on Live Photos, HEIC, and videos?+
Yes. Skrim handles HEIC and JPEG (with optional HEIC→JPG conversion), Live Photos (both halves are stripped and re-paired with a fresh UUID), and short videos. An optional "Resize for social" setting downsamples to 1080px on the long edge.
Can hackers really track me from a photo I posted online?+
If the photo's EXIF still has GPS, yes — any free metadata viewer extracts the coordinates in one click. Even without GPS, the camera serial and lens model form a fingerprint that links every photo you've ever posted back to one device. How attackers use EXIF →
What iOS version do I need?+
Skrim runs on iPhone and iPad. See the App Store listing for current system requirements.

Where Skrim
belongs.

The privacy beat we're pitching. Every one of these outlets covers an app like Skrim every quarter — we're betting they cover ours.

the verge
wired
wirecutter
9to5mac
macstories
lifehacker

Outlets shown are the press targets in the Skrim launch plan, not endorsements.

Read

What's actually
in your photo.

Plain-English breakdowns of the 25 hidden tags, how every major platform handles them, and what attackers do with the leftovers.

Primer

What EXIF data reveals about you

A full breakdown of the 25+ hidden tags in every iPhone photo, and what each one gives away.

Read →
iPhone

iPhone photo privacy: what Apple doesn't strip

Apple's "Remove Location" toggle hides one of 25 tags. Here's what stays attached after you toggle it on.

Read →
Platforms

What platforms actually strip from your photos

Instagram, WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal, AirDrop, Discord — what each one keeps, and what each one drops.

Read →
OSINT

How hackers use photo metadata to track you

Pattern-of-life reconstruction from public photos: location, device fingerprinting, and the chain back to you.

Read →
See all 14 articles →

Watch us go viral
or fail trying.

Send something.
Just for them.

Create, protect and share privately on iPhone and iPad. No subscription.

Download on App Store

On-device · No servers · No tracking