| Field | What we found / documented |
|---|---|
| Plain text metadata | tEXt, zTXt (compressed), iTXt (international) chunks |
| EXIF support | Optional eXIf chunk, added in a later PNG specification revision |
| C2PA support | Supported via a dedicated chunk in tools that implement it |
| Common use in AI tooling | Stable Diffusion UIs writing prompt/seed/sampler data as plain text |
PNG's chunk-based container makes it straightforward for any application to add a labeled block of text without needing a dedicated parser beyond the standard PNG chunk structure. That is a deliberate design choice in the format's specification, and it is a large part of why PNG is the preferred output format for tools that want to embed a readable generation record.
The tradeoff is that this text is just as easy to edit, forge, or strip as it was to add, since it carries no signature by default. A readable "parameters" or similar text chunk is a useful, specific clue about a file's origin, but it is not cryptographic proof of anything. Check any PNG file with our metadata viewer to see exactly what text chunks are present.
Questions this page answers
Does an empty metadata result mean the image is not from PNG?
No. A missing field can mean the metadata was never written, was stripped by an export or upload step, or was not inspected by this tool. Treat it as inconclusive, not as proof either way.
Does this page verify a specific image is from PNG?
No. It describes documented or observed behavior for PNG in general. To evaluate one file, inspect it with our metadata viewer and Content Credentials marker inspector and weigh the result alongside other context.