Comparison

Photo Metadata Viewer vs Bowline Sync

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Photo Metadata Viewer

Access and view all EXIF, GPS, PNG, and TIFF metadata embedded within your photos and videos. This application supports images from various camera brands and devices, presenting detailed information about each file.

Highlights
  • View EXIF data
  • View GPS coordinates
  • View PNG metadata
  • View TIFF metadata
  • Supports various camera brands
  • Displays pixel dimensions
  • Shows camera settings
Features
Read full description

View all metadata information from your pictures and videos with this app! This app displays all metadata contained within the photo or video, regardless of the camera used or how the photo was taken - iPhone, iPad, Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Fuji, Olympus, Pentax, etc, doesn’t matter! Metadata Viewer will detect all metadata and present it to you! The following are just a few examples of metadata attributes that will be displayed: ○PixelWidth ○PixelHeight ○Orientation ○IsIndexed ○HasAlpha ○ExifExposureTime ○ExifFNumber ○ExifDateTimeOriginal ○ExifDateTimeDigitized ○ExifShutterSpeedValue ○ExifApertureValue ○ExifBrightnessValue ○ExifLightSource ○ExifFlash ○ExifFocalLength ○ExifFlashEnergy ○ExifWhiteBalance ○ExifDigitalZoomRatio ○ExifGainControl ○ExifContrast ○ExifSaturation ○ExifSharpness ○GPSLatitude ○GPSLongitude ○GPSAltitude

About

Bowline Sync

Automatically geotag photos from your Ricoh GR camera and import them into Apple Photos. This app keeps your data private and your originals untouched, offering remote shutter and camera status updates.

Highlights
  • Automatic geotagging of photos
  • Direct import to Apple Photos
  • Remote shutter control
  • Live camera status monitoring
  • On-device data processing
  • Preserves original photo files
Features
Read full description

Bowline pulls photos off your Ricoh GR, geotags them automatically, and saves them to Apple Photos. Everything happens on your device. No account, no analytics, and your data stays yours. The GR III has no built-in GPS. Bowline fixes that without changing how you shoot. SHOOT LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO Pair once and Bowline stays quietly connected while you shoot. Live battery, storage, and camera status on your phone, and a remote shutter when you want it. No fiddling between shots. EVERY SHOT, GEOTAGGED Your photos are geotagged on your phone. While your GR is with you, Bowline keeps a private log of where you are and matches each shot to the place you took it, by capture time. SCAN ONCE, DECIDE ANYWHERE Import everything in one touch, or scan the card and take your time. Swipe through what's new and keep or reject each shot with the camera off and back in your bag. JPEG or DNG, your keepers land exactly as shot, in a dedicated Bowline album in Apple Photos. Once every shot is decided, Bowline tells you the card is safe to format. YOUR FILES, UNTOUCHED The originals on your camera are never modified. Bowline imports clean geotagged copies and leaves the card exactly as it found it. BATTERY THAT GOES THE DISTANCE Sync is a short burst you choose to run, so the camera's battery lasts. No silent background transfers, no surprise drain. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no login, no analytics, no third-party data sharing. Your photos and your location are processed on your device and stay under your control. SUPPORTED CAMERAS Built for the Ricoh GR III and GR IV, including all their variants. You will need a Ricoh GR camera to use Bowline. It does not work with other brands. WHY BOWLINE Bowline was built by a GR owner who wanted one focused tool: photos off the camera, tied to the places they were taken, into Apple Photos. Every shot, tied to its place.

Screenshots

Photo Metadata Viewer4 screens
Bowline Sync4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bowline Sync at 100% against Photo Metadata Viewer's 47%. Bowline Sync also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Photo Metadata Viewer's advantage is ratings volume (588 vs 2) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Photo Metadata Viewer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Bowline Sync asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bowline Sync holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Photo Metadata Viewer has 588 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of Photo Metadata Viewer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Bowline Sync's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Photo Metadata Viewer ships an update every 3 months, Bowline Sync daily. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Photo Metadata Viewer versus Bowline Sync: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhoto Metadata ViewerBowline Sync
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (588 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings588 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPLATINUM CITY LLChima aramona

Customer experience

Photo Metadata Viewer

All ratings587 ratings
Positive85.2%
Neutral4.6%
Negative10.2%
Written reviews75 reviews
Positive46.7%
Neutral9.3%
Negative44.0%

Bowline Sync

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Photo Metadata Viewer

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • No functions appear after selecting photo
  • Only cancel option available when selecting pictures
  • Blank page displayed when opening photo data
  • App freezes when attempting to save changes
  • Incorrect file names reported in metadata
Show 4 more
  • Random full-screen games pop up and cannot be closed
  • Unexpected audio blaring on first app launch
  • Modified dates change when saving to device
  • Text screen cannot be exited properly

Requested features

6 requests
  • Display file size information
  • Show device type and location data
  • Option for altitude in feet (not just metric)
  • Better in-app guidance and tutorials
  • Ability to export or copy metadata
Show 1 more
  • Improved support for message extraction from photos

Bowline Sync

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Photo Metadata Viewer

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
None

Bowline Sync

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Photo Metadata Viewer free?
Photo Metadata Viewer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bowline Sync free?
Bowline Sync is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Photo Metadata Viewer or Bowline Sync?
Bowline Sync is rated higher. Photo Metadata Viewer averages 4.4 out of 5 from 588 ratings, while Bowline Sync averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Photo Metadata Viewer or Bowline Sync have ads?
Neither Photo Metadata Viewer nor Bowline Sync shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Photo Metadata Viewer or Bowline Sync?
Photo Metadata Viewer ships an update every 3 months, and Bowline Sync daily. Most recently, Photo Metadata Viewer was updated on October 23, 2026 and Bowline Sync on October 24, 2026.

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