EXIF paranoia

So I'm paranoid now about EXIF metadata.

Turns out that there is much information that gets included with your digital pictures. Depending on your camera, of course, various things like lens, focal length, aperture, exposure, resolution, etc. are included for all to see along with whatever subject in your photo. See, I like this. I'm in no way a good photographer. I mess around with settings while I point my camera at various things. It's nice to see what others accomplish technically, so I can learn how to do something similar.

Also, it turns out, a thumbnail preview of your image may exist, revealing perhaps whatever you'd blacked or cropped out in a photo editor (a license plate or a face, for instance). Further, the serial number of your camera may be included.

Now I'm not one who usually worries about such things, but this just feels odd for some reason. It's not aided by the fact that I've posted many pictures up on flickr for public viewing. In the end, I'll probably get over it. After all, if Michael isn't concerned that I know the serial number of his shiny D40, perhaps I shouldn't worry.

I'm learning about ExifTool, though, just in case.