01
Why credentials may be absent
The capture device may not create them, the editing app may not preserve them, the delivery platform may strip them, or the format and export path may not support the manifest.
Key points
- Never added
- Removed by export
- Unsupported format path
- Damaged or incomplete manifest
02
What to do next
Inspect ordinary metadata, look for the original source, compare hashes when you have trusted copies, and consider contextual evidence. Do not infer intent from absence alone.
What this does not prove
A metadata result describes the fields and structures that the supported parser could read. It does not, by itself, prove authenticity, intent, authorship or the truth of the visible scene.