The million dollar question. If you've ever heard two computer scientists talk at length, the word "IT" is probably the most common one. metadata has flown over the air at some point in time. It would go in one ear and out the other because, of course, you have no idea what it is. Let's help you understand it with a simple tongue twister: metadata is data that talks about data. Although repetitive, it is true. In fact, the word metadata comes from Greek and literally means “beyond data”. Let's dig a little deeper.
A more generous description of the what is metadata is one that defines them as a set of data that describe the information content of a digital file. They tell us about its content, its quality and many other attributes. They can be classified according to content, variability or function. And, above all, they are highly structured data. Its importance in today's technological universe is enormous. What for? That is what we are going to explain to you in a moment.
What is metadata for?
The metadata are, above all, multifunctional elements. They are used for self-documentation and reporting because they make searching and retrieving information much easier. They are also very, very useful for transfer, as they provide users with the necessary information to use the retrieved files on their devices. And for speeding up development work, as it reduces the time it takes to provide connectivity. This among many, many other possibilities. They are vital.
Moreover, in relation to the organisation of resources, they greatly enhance their archiving and preservation. We can say that they are fundamental for these resources to be accessible in the future. As you can see, they are involved in a large number of digital processes. And not all of them good. Metadata reveals a lot of information about relationships and behaviours. Sometimes more information than the actual content that makes up the resource. With the right IT tools, they can be extract metadata and analyse en masse.
Edit metadata
Edit metadata can be a great way to protect our resources. Whether it's metadata in photos, metadata in PDFs or metadata in any other file type. Editing them gives us the opportunity to attribute unique metadata to the resources. In this way, it will be much easier for us to see that our resources have been stolen, as they will have our unique identification. Also to protect some of our privacy. For example, by changing the metadata of the coordinates of a photograph we took.
Otherwise, that photograph would still include the exact coordinates where we took the picture. And it could be our house. For this purpose, there are many programmes on the Internet that allow us to carry out these tasks. Although the strategic complexity of these processes, more than technical, makes it highly advisable to have the help of professional technicians specialised in metadata. At Adarsus we have the best. Let us give you a hand with your privacy to make sure you are absolutely protected.
Remove metadata
In a digital world marked by the constant sharing of resources, delete metadata is increasingly becoming an indispensable tool. Take Instagram or Facebook, for example, where we upload photos taken with our devices every day. As we said, the metadata of these photos express private information that we don't want circulating freely on the internet. And while editing them may be a strategy to protect yourself, deleting them is even better.
As we pointed out earlier: there are many digital tools for metadata processing. But at Adarsus we work with the best tool on the market: MetaClean. Thanks to it, we can prevent phishing attacks by preventing information leakage through metadata, The data can be organised in the form of templates, automatically processed on the basis of the metadata policy and, of course, deleted for good.
