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A WAV is a list of chunks
WAV is a RIFF file: a sequence of labelled chunks. `fmt ` says how the sound is stored and `data` holds it. Everything else is optional, and DAWs, editors and field recorders add plenty:
| Chunk | What it holds | Technical data only | Every tag |
|---|---|---|---|
| LIST/INFO | Title (INAM), artist (IART), album (IPRD), genre, date — and comment (ICMT), copyright (ICOP), software (ISFT), engineer (IENG) | Reduced to title, artist, album, genre, date and track | Removed |
| bext | Broadcast Wave: description, originator, date and time, coding history | Removed | Removed |
| iXML | Production notes from recorders: project, scene, take, notes | Removed | Removed |
| _PMX | Adobe XMP, often with a user name and file paths | Removed | Removed |
| id3 | An ID3 tag stored inside the WAV | Reduced to the listener frames | Removed |
| cue, smpl, inst, acid | Cue points, loop points, root note, tempo — how a sample plays | Kept | Kept |
Text labels attached to cue points (the `LIST/adtl` chunk) are free text and go in both modes; the cue positions themselves stay.
Sample packs keep working
Stripping literally everything from a WAV would also remove the loop points and root note a sampler reads. The file would still play, but it would stop looping and land on the wrong key. That is not metadata in the privacy sense, so both modes keep `smpl`, `inst`, `acid` and `cue `. What goes is the text: who made it, with what, and what they wrote about it.
Lossless and local
The sample data is copied byte for byte into a rebuilt file with corrected chunk sizes; nothing is resampled or re-encoded. It all happens in your browser — which matters for unreleased stems and raw interview tape.
How to remove metadata from a WAV file
This page opens with “Technical data only” selected: title and artist stay, everything else goes.
Step 1: Drop the WAV in
Drag one or more files onto the box above. A batch comes back as a ZIP.
Step 2: Read the chunk list
For a single file the panel lists the chunks it found — INFO, bext, iXML, XMP — and what kind of data they hold.
Step 3: Clean and download
Press the button. The WAV is rebuilt in your browser with only the chunks that belong, and downloads straight away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does cleaning change the audio?
No. The `data` chunk is copied byte for byte and the format chunk is untouched; only the chunks around them are rebuilt.
Will my DAW or sampler still read the file?
Yes. The result is a regular RIFF/WAVE file with the format, audio and sampler chunks in place and every chunk size corrected.
Are loop points and cue markers kept?
Yes, in both modes. Only the text labels on cue points are removed.
What about WAV files over 4 GB?
Files that large use the RF64 or BW64 variant, which is not supported — and would not fit comfortably in a browser tab’s memory anyway.
Is the file uploaded?
No. It is read and rebuilt in your browser and never leaves your device.
Related Tools
- Remove Metadata from a FLAC FileClear the comments, credits, cover art and encoder name a FLAC carries — without decoding a single audio frame.
- MP3 Tag Remover: Strip Every Tag from an MP3Remove all ID3v2, ID3v1 and APE tags in one pass and get back nothing but the audio — byte for byte, with no re-encode and no upload.
- MP3 Metadata & ID3 Tag Remover (also FLAC and WAV)Strip studio, software and personal details from MP3, FLAC and WAV files, keeping title and artist.