By default, a phone camera records where each photo was taken, usually to within a few metres. If the original file is sent, anyone can read that position and look it up on a map. Here are four ways to deal with it, ordered from prevention to cleanup, and what to watch for beyond the file itself.
What the file actually holds
The GPS block of EXIF contains latitude, longitude, altitude and the time of the fix. Many phones also record the direction the lens faced and your speed. Paste the numbers into a map and you stand on the spot.
1. Switch off recording
- iPhone: Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, Camera, Never.
- Android: camera settings, turn off location tags (“Save location” on some models).
- Dedicated cameras: disable built-in GPS or phone pairing in the menu.
Best protection for future photos. The trade-off: no map view in your gallery, and existing photos stay as they are.
2. Remove it when you share
- iPhone: share sheet in Photos, Options, Location off.
- Samsung: choose “Remove location data” on the share screen of Gallery.
- Windows: Properties, Details, “Remove Properties and Personal Information”.
- Mac: Preview, Tools, Show Inspector, GPS tab, “Remove Location Info”.
Good for single photos, but device model and date usually remain. Check the result instead of assuming.
3. Clean many photos at once
Use the image metadata remover: add the files, press Clean and read the report, where GPS fields are called out. Picture data is copied unchanged, so quality stays the same, and a second scan confirms nothing identifying remains. All of it runs in your browser. For folders and recurring jobs the API and MCP server work without one. To drop only the location, the GPS location remover displays the coordinates first and removes just those.
4. Script it with ExifTool
exiftool "-gps*=" -overwrite_original photo.jpgThis removes location only. exiftool -all= photo.jpg wipes everything but also deletes the rotation flag, so portraits may open sideways. Our tool keeps rotation for that reason.
exiftool -a -G1 -s -gps:all photo-clean.jpgLeaks that have nothing to do with GPS tags
- Street signs, house numbers, a distinctive view or a reflection in the picture.
- Captions, hashtags and check-ins you add on social platforms.
- File names like
flat-12-main-street.jpg. - File-mode chat, e-mail attachments, cloud links and USB drives, which deliver the original.
- Photos of a screen showing a map or delivery app.
If it's already online
Cleaning your copy doesn't change a published file. Delete the post or file, upload a cleaned copy, and consider anything cached, downloaded or forwarded as out of your hands. Shared albums and links often include location unless you disable it in their options.
Video too
Phone videos hold location in tags and sometimes in timed tracks, and the video half of a Live Photo carries the same. The video metadata remover cleans MP4 and MOV without re-encoding.
A habit worth keeping
Leave location on in your private library if you like maps. Whenever a photo leaves your control, send a cleaned copy, glance at the report and keep the original. For the bigger picture read what EXIF data is.