What are some best practices for handling EXIF data manipulation in PHP?

When handling EXIF data manipulation in PHP, it is important to sanitize user input to prevent any malicious code injection. Additionally, always validate the EXIF data before using it to ensure it is in the correct format. Finally, consider using a library like PHP Exif to simplify the process of reading and writing EXIF data.

// Example of sanitizing user input for EXIF data manipulation
$exif_data = $_POST['exif_data'];

// Validate the EXIF data before using it
if (exif_imagetype($image_path) == IMAGETYPE_JPEG) {
    $exif = exif_read_data($image_path);
    
    // Use the EXIF data
    if (isset($exif['DateTime'])) {
        echo "Image taken on: " . $exif['DateTime'];
    }
}

// Using PHP Exif library for reading EXIF data
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use PHPExif\Reader\Reader;

$reader = Reader::factory(Reader::TYPE_NATIVE);
$exif = $reader->read($image_path);

// Accessing EXIF data
$datetime = $exif->getCreationDate();
echo "Image taken on: " . $datetime->format('Y-m-d H:i:s');