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Privacy & security

How to Remove EXIF and GPS Location Data From Photos

Photos can reveal where they were taken, when, and with which device. Here's how to check what's hidden in an image and remove it before sharing.

Updated · 3 min read

Every photo from a phone carries a small data sheet called EXIF. Most of it is harmless, like shutter speed or ISO. But it usually also includes the exact place and time the photo was taken. Share a picture of your new sofa and you may also share your home address.

What's inside a photo's metadata

Typical EXIF and related metadata (XMP, IPTC) include:

  • GPS coordinates, often precise to a few meters, plus altitude and direction
  • Date and time the photo was taken, sometimes to the second
  • Device make, model and sometimes lens and serial numbers
  • Software used to edit the image
  • Author, copyright and comments added by editing apps
  • A thumbnail that may still show the original crop

Check a file with the EXIF viewer. If GPS data is present, you'll see the coordinates.

When metadata is (and isn't) removed automatically

Some big social networks remove location data from uploaded photos. You shouldn't rely on it, because the original file is shared unchanged in many situations:

  • email attachments
  • cloud storage links (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive)
  • file transfers, forums and classified ads sites
  • sending as a "file" or "document" in messenger apps, which avoids compression

Remove metadata in your browser

  1. Open the metadata remover.
  2. Drop your photos. JPG, PNG and WebP are supported, as well as PDFs and Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.
  3. Review what each file reveals: location, camera, dates, software, author.
  4. Download the cleaned copies, individually or as a ZIP.

For JPG, PNG and WebP the metadata blocks are removed at the byte level, so the image data itself is untouched and the picture looks exactly the same. The files are processed on your device and never uploaded.

About rotation: phones often save photos sideways and store the correct orientation as a metadata tag. The tool can keep just that tag, or rotate the pixels so no tag is needed.

Prevent location tagging in the first place

  • iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Camera → Never. When sharing, tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn off Location for that share.
  • Android: open the Camera app settings and turn off location tags (the exact name varies by manufacturer).
  • Windows: right-click a photo → Properties → Details → Remove Properties and Personal Information.
  • macOS Photos: Image → Location → Hide Location before exporting.

Don't forget documents

A Word file can contain the author's full name, company and editing history, and a PDF the creating software and author field. The metadata remover cleans these too: document properties in Office files, and the info dictionary and XMP metadata in PDFs.

A good habit

Keep originals in your private library with full metadata; they're useful for sorting by date and place. Share cleaned copies. If the files are large, the image compressor can shrink them in the same step.

Frequently asked questions

Does taking a screenshot remove metadata? A screenshot is a new image without the original photo's GPS data, but it loses quality and resolution. Removing metadata from the original keeps the full image.

Do messenger apps remove location? Many messengers remove metadata when they compress a photo, but sending as a file or document usually keeps it. When in doubt, clean the photo first.