How to Remove Location Data From Photos Before You Share Them
Phone photos can carry the exact GPS position where they were taken. Here is what that metadata contains, when it is shared and when it is removed, and how to strip it on every device.
A photo file holds more than pixels. Most cameras and phones also write metadata: information about how, when and often where the picture was taken. If you share the original file, that information goes with it.
What is stored in a photo
The most common format is EXIF. A typical phone photo can include:
| Information | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| GPS coordinates | 51.5034, -0.1276 | Can point to your home, school or workplace, sometimes within a few metres |
| Date and time | 2026-10-12 07:41:09 | Shows routines when combined with location |
| Device make and model | Phone model, lens | Identifies the device you use |
| Camera settings | exposure, ISO, focal length | Harmless, but useful to photographers |
| Orientation | "rotate 90°" | Controls whether the photo displays upright |
| Software, sometimes a serial number | editing app, camera body number | Can link photos to the same device |
Location is only recorded if location access is turned on for the camera app, but on many phones it is on by default.
When it is shared, and when it is not
Usually removed: most large social networks remove EXIF data, including GPS, from the public copy of an uploaded photo. You shouldn't rely on that blindly. Platforms can change their processing, and the platform itself may still read and store the location when you upload.
Usually kept, so check these:
- Email attachments of the original file.
- Messaging apps when you send a photo "as a file" or "as a document" instead of as a photo.
- Cloud storage share links, such as a shared folder of originals.
- Your own website or blog. Many content management systems store the original upload as is, metadata included.
- Online marketplaces and forums that keep the original file.
- AirDrop, Nearby Share and USB transfers of originals.
If you sell something online from home, or post photos of your house, children or daily routes, check the metadata first.
How to check a photo's metadata
- Windows: right-click the file → Properties → Details. Look for a GPS section.
- macOS: open the photo in Preview → Tools → Show Inspector → the (i) tab. A GPS tab appears if location is stored.
- iPhone: open the photo in Photos and swipe up. A map means a location is attached.
- Android (Google Photos): open the photo, swipe up or tap the menu to see the details. A location appears there if one is stored.
How to remove it
iPhone and iPad
- For one share: in Photos, tap Share, then Options at the top of the share sheet, and turn off Location.
- To stop recording location: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Camera → Never.
Android
- To stop recording location: open the camera app's settings and turn off the location or geotag option. The name varies by manufacturer.
- For shared links in Google Photos: look for the setting that removes location from items you share by link.
- For a one-off file, use one of the methods below on the file before sending it.
Windows
Right-click the file → Properties → Details → Remove Properties and Personal Information. Choose Create a copy with all possible properties removed and share the copy.
macOS
In Preview: Tools → Show Inspector → (i) → GPS tab → Remove Location Info. This removes location but keeps the other EXIF data.
In the browser: re-encode the image
When a browser draws an image onto a canvas and saves it as a new file, it writes only the pixels. EXIF, GPS and camera details are not copied into the new file. The browser applies the orientation first, so the photo still comes out upright.
All the image tools on imgstools work this way, inside your browser. Running a photo through compress, resize, convert or crop produces a new file without the original's EXIF metadata, and the photo is never uploaded. A useful side effect: compress at quality 85, for example, and you get a smaller file and one with no location.
Always check the result with one of the methods above before you rely on it, especially with other tools. Not every editor strips metadata, and some copy it into the new file on purpose.
We tested the browser method
We built a test JPEG with five EXIF entries: an orientation tag, a camera make and model, a timestamp and a full GPS block. Then we did what the imgstools tools do: open it in Chromium 141, draw it to a canvas and save new files.
| File | EXIF entries | GPS | Other metadata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original test JPEG | 5 | Present | n/a |
| Re-saved as JPEG | 0 | None | Colour profile only |
| Re-saved as WebP | 0 | None | Colour profile only |
| Re-saved as PNG | 0 | None | None |
The colour profile that remains describes how to display colours and contains nothing about you or your device. The photo also came out upright, because the browser applied the orientation tag before drawing it.
The embedded thumbnail trap
Many JPEGs carry a small preview image inside their EXIF data. Some editing programs have updated the main picture after a crop but left the old thumbnail untouched, so the part you cropped out was still in the file. If you crop something out for privacy, export a fresh file rather than trusting an in-place edit. A browser re-save drops the thumbnail along with the rest of the EXIF.
What metadata removal does not hide
Removing EXIF only removes the hidden data. The picture itself can still give away a location: street signs, house numbers, a car's number plate, a view from a window, a school logo, or a parcel label. Crop or cover those before sharing. And if you cover something, use a solid block. Strong blur on text can sometimes be partly reversed.
When you should keep metadata
Stripping everything is not always right:
- Photographers and illustrators often want creator and copyright fields (IPTC and XMP) to travel with their work. In some places, removing rights information from someone else's work can itself be unlawful.
- Research, evidence and journalism may depend on original timestamps and locations. Keep untouched originals and note how copies were made.
- Your own photo library uses dates and places to organise itself. Strip metadata from the copy you share, not from your archive.
Summary
- Turn off location for the camera if you don't need it.
- Before sharing an original file, check for GPS data.
- Remove it with your device's built-in option, or by re-saving the image in a browser-based tool.
- Check the photo itself for visible clues as well.
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