Practical guide 3 min read
How to remove the location from a photo before sharing it
Check whether a photo gives away where it was taken, then strip the location or all hidden details without changing how the picture looks.
What a photo can reveal
A photo carries more than the picture. Cameras and phones store extra details inside the file, known as EXIF metadata:
- the date and time it was taken
- the phone or camera model, the lens and the exposure settings
- sometimes the serial numbers of the camera and lens
- if location services were on, the GPS position where it was taken, usually accurate to within a few metres outdoors
The location is the detail that matters most. A photo of your new car, taken in your driveway and posted to a marketplace, can show exactly where you live.
Check a photo first
Both tools in this guide, the EXIF Viewer and Remove EXIF Data, are free and need no account.
Open the EXIF Viewer and choose a photo. It shows the date and time, camera and lens, exposure settings, dimensions and, if there is one, the location. The map link only opens if you select it.
If a photo shows no metadata at all, it has probably been stripped already. Screenshots never have any, and photos saved from social networks or messaging apps usually have had theirs removed.
Remove location data, step by step
- Open Remove EXIF Data and choose or drop your photos. Any that reveal a location are flagged.
- Under Remove, choose Everything or Location only.
- Select Remove metadata and download the clean copies.
- To double-check, open one of the downloaded copies in the EXIF Viewer. It should show no location.
Everything, or location only?
Location only keeps the date and camera details and removes only where the photo was taken. It is a good choice for photos you are sharing with family or saving to an archive, where the date is useful.
Everything removes all of it. Use it for photos going somewhere public or to strangers: marketplace listings, forums, dating profiles, or pictures of documents and items you are selling.
Either way, two things are always kept. The colour profile stays, so the colours don't shift. And a photo stored sideways keeps the single note that tells viewers which way is up, so it still appears the right way round.
Does this change the photo?
No. For JPG, PNG and WebP files, the metadata is cut out of the file without re-compressing the picture, so the quality is exactly the same. HEIC photos from an iPhone are saved as JPGs with no metadata, since that is the most reliable way to clean them and JPGs open everywhere.
When you need to do this
The big social networks strip location data from the copies other people see. Many other routes keep everything:
- email attachments
- messaging apps sending photos at original quality, or as files
- shared cloud folders and links
- file transfer services and USB sticks
- photos uploaded to your own website or blog
If you are not sure how a photo will be shared, remove the location first.
Stop saving the location in the first place
You can turn off location tagging on your phone for future photos:
- iPhone: go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services, then Camera, and choose Never. When sharing a single photo, you can also tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn off Location.
- Android: open the Camera app's settings and turn off the option to save or tag location. Its exact name varies between phone makers.
Photos you have already taken keep their location until you remove it.
Where your photos are processed
Your photos are read and cleaned in your browser. They are not uploaded to a LabAnvil server, which would defeat the purpose. The privacy policy covers analytics and advertising on the website itself.