Photo metadata: what EXIF and GPS reveal and how to remove it
What photos store about where and how they were taken, which channels keep it, and how to share a clean copy.
A photo is more than its pixels. Cameras and phones embed metadata in every image they save: when it was taken, with which device, with what settings, and often exactly where. That information is useful in your own photo library and a privacy risk when the file leaves your hands. This guide explains what is stored, when it is shared, and how to remove it.
What photos can contain
- GPS coordinates, often precise to a few metres, of where the photo was taken, plus sometimes altitude and direction.
- Date and time to the second, and the time zone offset.
- Device details: make, model, lens, and on some cameras a body serial number that can link photos to the same camera.
- Camera settings: exposure, ISO, focal length, and flash.
- Software and edits: the editing app used, XMP edit history, IPTC captions, keywords, and author and copyright fields.
- Thumbnails: a small embedded preview that, in some software, can still show the original before a crop.
Most of this lives in EXIF blocks inside JPEG and WebP files, and in similar chunks in PNG files. Location tagging is usually on by default for the camera app once location permission has been granted.
When metadata is shared, and when it is not
Major social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, and X strip most metadata from uploaded photos, although the platform itself may keep it. Many other channels pass the original file through untouched:
- Email attachments.
- Cloud storage share links and shared albums, depending on settings.
- Messaging apps when sending as a “file” or in “original quality” rather than as a compressed photo.
- Online marketplaces, forums, and small websites.
- Photos attached to support tickets, applications, and forms.
Photographing an item for sale at home and attaching the original can reveal your address. Photos of children, or posted by people avoiding a stalker, carry the same risk. Journalists and activists have been located through photo metadata.
Removing metadata
Remove image metadata re-encodes the image from its pixels only. EXIF, GPS, XMP, IPTC, comments, timestamps, embedded thumbnails, and colour profiles from the source are left out of the new file, and the EXIF orientation is applied to the pixels so the image still displays the right way up. Everything happens in your browser, so the original photo is never uploaded.
- Choose the photo and keep the default high quality for JPEG or WebP.
- Download the cleaned copy and share that, not the original.
- Check the result. On Windows, open File Explorer → Properties → Details. On macOS, use Preview’s Inspector or Get Info. GPS and camera fields should be empty.
Other image tools on this site also drop source metadata when they re-encode, for example when you resize or convert a photo. The dedicated tool exists for when privacy is the goal and you want certainty about what was removed.
What removing metadata does not do
- It does not change what is visible. House numbers, street signs, car plates, reflections in windows and glasses, screens, documents on a desk, and recognisable landmarks all remain. Crop or blur them before sharing.
- It re-encodes lossy formats. JPEG and WebP go through another round of compression. Use a high quality, around 90 or more, to keep detail.
- Colours may shift slightly in photos saved with wide-gamut profiles such as Display P3 or Adobe RGB, because the profile is removed.
Prevention at the source
If you never want location in your photos, turn off location access for the camera app. On iOS it is under Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Camera, and on Android in the camera app’s settings. Both iOS and Android also offer to remove location when sharing: look for “Options” or a location toggle in the share sheet. For photos already taken, cleaning a copy before sharing is the reliable fix.