How to remove location data from your photos
Photos from a phone usually record exactly where they were taken. Here is how to see what yours are carrying, and how to strip it before sharing.
· 5 minute read
What your photos are carrying
Every photo your phone takes stores extra information beside the picture, called EXIF data. Some of it is harmless. Some of it is not.
- GPS coordinates: the exact spot where you stood, often accurate to a few metres.
- Date and time, down to the second.
- Phone or camera make and model.
- Camera settings, and sometimes the editing software used.
Why it matters
A photo taken at home carries your home address in all but name. Selling something online, posting a pet photo, sending a picture to a stranger — each can hand over the location without anyone noticing.
Who strips it and who does not
This is where people get caught out. Some services remove EXIF when you upload; others pass the file through untouched. It also changes over time, and differs between the app and the website.
- Messaging apps and email usually send the original file when you attach it as a document or file, rather than as a photo.
- Cloud storage links share the file exactly as you uploaded it.
- Marketplace and forum sites vary, and you cannot tell from the outside.
Rather than trying to remember which service does what, the safer habit is to clean the photo before it leaves your device.
How to remove it
- Open Remove EXIF Data and drop in up to 20 photos. iPhone HEIC files are accepted as they are.
- Each photo is cleaned as it is added, and shows what was removed — EXIF, XMP or IPTC.
- Download the clean copies one by one, or all together as a zip.
For JPG and PNG the picture itself is not touched. The metadata is cut out and the image data copied across byte for byte, so the result is pixel-for-pixel identical, only smaller.
The part everyone forgets
Stripping EXIF removes the hidden location. It does nothing about the location visible in the picture itself.
- House numbers, street signs and shop names in the background.
- Number plates on cars, which identify an owner.
- Reflections in windows, mirrors and eyes.
- School uniforms and name badges in photos of children.
Stop it at the source
You can also tell your phone to stop recording location on new photos. On iPhone, open Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services, and set Camera to Never. On Android, open the Camera app settings and turn off location tags. The wording differs between versions, so look for "location" in the camera settings.
This only affects photos taken from now on. Everything already in your library keeps whatever it recorded.