Steganography and media decoders
Media decoders extract the information carried inside images, audio and video — embedded metadata such as EXIF and ID3, machine-readable codes such as QR and barcodes, and payloads deliberately hidden with steganography — alongside timing formats such as SMPTE timecode.
Image, Media & Steganography tools
LSB Image Steganography Decoder
Recover data hidden in the least-significant bits of an image.
Steghide / OpenStego Extractor
Extract payloads embedded by common steg tools.
Audio Steganography Decoder
Decode DeepSound and SilentEye audio-hidden payloads.
QR Code Decoder
Scan QR and matrix codes from an uploaded image.
Barcode Decoder (UPC / EAN / ISBN)
Read linear barcodes and validate their check digits.
EXIF Metadata Viewer
Pull camera, GPS and authoring metadata out of images.
SMPTE Timecode Decoder
Decode SMPTE video timecode and frame rates.
ID3 Audio Tag Decoder
Read ID3v1/v2 tags and metadata from audio files.
Base64 Media Data URI Decoder
Preview and decode base64 image, audio and video data URIs.
Which decoder do I need?
- A data:image/png;base64,… string
- Base64 Media Data URI
- A timecode like 01:23:45:12 and a frame rate
- SMPTE Timecode
- A photo whose camera or GPS details you need
- EXIF Metadata
- An image you suspect hides data in its pixels
- LSB Image Steganography
About image, media & steganography decoding
A media file carries far more than its pixels or samples. Photos embed camera, lens and often GPS data in EXIF; MP3s carry ID3 tags; and steganography tools hide whole files in the least-significant bits of an image or in audio noise, which is why these formats are a staple of CTF forensics challenges.
Two decoders here are live today — the Base64 media data URI decoder, which previews an embedded image, audio clip or video, and the SMPTE timecode decoder. The metadata, code-scanning and steganography tools are on the roadmap, and each page already documents how its format works.
Frequently asked questions
Can a photo reveal where it was taken?
Often, yes. Many phones write GPS coordinates into a photo's EXIF metadata. Most social networks strip EXIF on upload, but files shared directly, by email or in chat apps may keep it.
What is LSB steganography?
Least-significant-bit steganography hides data in the lowest bit of each colour channel. Changing that bit alters a pixel's colour imperceptibly, so an image can carry a hidden payload without looking any different.
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