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Language Foundation

metadata

Metadata is information that describes a message or other digital communication, such as who sent it, who received it, when and where it was sent, or how large it is, rather than the content itself.

In plain English

It is the descriptive information around a communication, not the communication itself. It covers details that identify or characterise it, such as the parties involved, the time or place, or its size.

In context

Here, metadata names the non-content details associated with a communication or file rather than the material inside it.

Situation
Understanding encryption, privacy, data-sharing, and secure-connection labels
What it communicates
names non-content information about communications or files

Meaning limits

The term alone does not tell you what the communication itself contains.

Examples

“The log stored the message metadata, such as the sender and time, but not the message itself.”

Core meaning

“Before sharing the photo, she removed the metadata from the file.”

In context

  • data Broader Term

    Metadata is a kind of data.

  • message content Contrast

    This is the substance of the communication itself, not the descriptive details about it.