Introducing Time-Based Metadata: Unlocking a new layer of data in media forensics
Brief
Key takeaways
- Time-based metadata is dynamic, frame-specific data — like GPS, speed, and object positions — that evolves across a file’s timeline, unlike traditional metadata.
- This data has existed in files for years but has stayed hidden, buried in proprietary structures that require specialized parsing to access.
- Magnet Verify is the only forensic tool that identifies, decodes, and exposes time-based metadata, giving examiners frame-level precision for cases like use-of-force investigations and crash reconstruction.
When most forensic practitioners think about metadata, they think in terms of static attributes — simple key/value pairs that describe a file at a high level.
We use this data every day. Things like:
- Duration: 1 min 51 s
- Encoded date: UTC 2026-06-23 18:48:47
- Resolution: 1920 × 1080
- Frame rate: 29.605 FPS
This is the metadata we’ve relied on for years.