Clear Media Title On Upload

When you upload media to WordPress, the title field is automatically set to a slugified version of the filename. This often results in messy, unoptimized titles like “IMG-20240115-photo-final-v2” appearing in gallery captions, alt tags, or title attributes.

This plugin clears the title field for newly uploaded media, ensuring that if a title is displayed anywhere, it’s one you’ve intentionally set yourself.

Features

• Automatically clears the title field for new media uploads
• Bulk action to clear titles on existing media library items
• Lightweight with no settings page required
• Developer-friendly with filters

How It Works

The plugin hooks into WordPress’s wp_insert_attachment_data filter and clears the post_title field for new uploads before they are saved to the database.

Filters

runthings_emt_skip

Skip clearing the title for specific attachments.

Parameters:

• $skip (bool) – Whether to skip clearing the title. Default false.
• $data (array) – Attachment post data (slashed, sanitized, processed).
• $postarr (array) – Sanitized post data (not processed).
• $unsanitized_postarr (array) – Unsanitized post data.
• $update (bool) – Whether this is an update (always false for new uploads).

Example:

// Skip clearing title for uploads by specific user
add_filter('runthings_emt_skip', function($skip, $data, $postarr) {
    if (get_current_user_id() === 1) {
        return true; // Admin keeps auto-generated titles
    }
    return $skip;
}, 10, 3);



// Skip clearing title if filename contains "keep-title"
add_filter('runthings_emt_skip', function($skip, $data, $postarr) {
    $filename = $postarr['post_title'] ?? '';
    if (strpos($filename, 'keep-title') !== false) {
        return true;
    }
    return $skip;
}, 10, 3);

runthings_emt_mime_types

Filter which MIME types should have their title cleared. By default, all media types are affected.

Parameters:

• $allowed_mime_types (array) – Array of MIME type patterns. Default [] (all types).
• $attachment_mime_type (string) – The attachment’s MIME type.
• $postarr (array) – Sanitized post data.

Example:

// Restrict to images only
add_filter('runthings_emt_mime_types', function($allowed_mime_types) {
    return ['image'];
});



// Restrict to images and PDFs only
add_filter('runthings_emt_mime_types', function($allowed_mime_types) {
    return ['image', 'application/pdf'];
});

Additional Notes

Built by Matthew Harris of runthings.dev, copyright 2022-2026.

Visit runthings.dev for more WordPress plugins and resources.

Contribute or report issues at the GitHub repository.

Insert space by Xinh Studio from Noun Project, https://thenounproject.com/browse/icons/term/insert-space/ (CC BY 3.0) – https://thenounproject.com/icon/insert-space-239543/

Image by David Khai from Noun Project, https://thenounproject.com/browse/icons/term/image/ (CC BY 3.0) – https://thenounproject.com/icon/image-661355/

1. Upload the plugin files to the /wp-content/plugins/runthings-empty-media-title directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress.
3. That’s it! New media uploads will now have an empty title field.

1. 

   Before: Image uploaded with auto-generated slugified title. After: Image uploaded with empty title field.

2.0.1 – 23rd January 2026

• Improved bulk action messages
• Add confirmation prompt to bulk edit list view
• Fixed nonce verification in bulk action processing

2.0.0 – 23rd January 2026

• Complete plugin refactor with namespaced class structure
• Added bulk action “Clear media title” to clear titles on existing media items
• Changed default from ['image'] to [] (all media types)
• Added runthings_emt_skip filter for developer customization
• Added runthings_emt_mime_types filter to extend beyond images

1.0.0 – 6th January 2022

• Initial release