HEIC metadata removal in mat2 0.15.0
HEIC files are now a special case. mat2 can clean them, but only within lightweight mode, since it cannot remove an embedded ICC profile from the file. If you rely on HEIC sanitisation, that is the boundary to work with rather than something to tune away.
The practical consequence is simple enough: a HEIC file may still retain colour profile data even after a pass through mat2. If that metadata matters for your workflow, the file needs a separate check rather than a quiet assumption that cleanup finished the job.
Lightweight mode is the only safe path for HEIC
Lightweight mode is not just the cautious option here. It is the only mode mat2 0.15.0 can use for HEIC cleaning without pretending the ICC profile problem does not exist. Any fuller sanitisation path would suggest a level of removal the tool cannot actually deliver for this format.
That matters if HEIC files are part of a larger intake process. A pipeline that treats every image type the same will miss the difference here, and missed metadata is still metadata. The limit is narrow, but it is real.
What the release changes for adjacent formats
The HEIC change sits beside a few broader format updates. mat2 0.15.0 adds AVIF support and JPEG XL support, and ODF handling is improved. Office file handling also changes: element order is no longer reordered, with only attributes being sorted. That keeps the files closer to their original structure and improves compatibility with MS Office.
PDF handling stays cautious too. Cleaned PDFs keep their original PDF version, which avoids unnecessary format churn. Audio files are also tightened up, with appended APEv2 and ID3v1 tags removed from mp3, ogg, and flac files.
The shape of the release is fairly clear. mat2 is becoming more careful about where it can clean aggressively and where it needs to leave structure alone so other software stops complaining.
Check the files that still need a separate pass
HEIC is the obvious one, but not the only file type that deserves a second look. Any workflow that depends on complete metadata removal should verify the output rather than trusting the first pass.
A separate check is worth doing for:
- HEIC files, because embedded ICC profiles remain
- office documents, if element order matters in downstream tools
- PDFs, if you expect the version number to change
- audio files, if appended tags are part of the problem you are trying to remove
mat2 0.15.0 is more careful about compatibility than drama. That is usually the right call, and it still leaves you with files that need inspection when the format itself will not cooperate.
