How to remove the location and other hidden details from your photos
Every photo from a phone is two things: the picture, and a set of notes about it that you never see. The notes can include the exact place the photo was taken. Most of the time that is harmless. Sometimes it is not, and it takes a minute to remove.
What is stored in a photo
- The place: GPS coordinates, accurate to a few metres, when location is on for the camera.
- The date and time the photo was taken.
- The make and model of the phone or camera, and sometimes its serial number.
- The program that edited it, and sometimes a name, a caption or keywords.
- A small preview copy of the picture, which can still show what you cropped out.
When it matters
A photo of a bike you are selling, taken in front of your house, carries your address. A photo of your child posted to a forum can carry the location of the school. A cropped picture can carry an uncropped preview. In each case the person who receives the original file can read the notes with free tools.
Large social networks usually remove these notes when they shrink a photo for display. Sending the file itself, by email, as a "document" in a chat app, through a cloud link, or to a small website, usually does not. If you are not sure, remove them yourself.
Remove the details
- Open Remove photo details and add the photos.
- Read the list: it shows what each file holds, with the location first if there is one.
- Press Remove the details and download the clean copies.
- Share the clean copies. Keep the originals for yourself: the date and place are useful in your own gallery.
Stop the camera saving the place
- iPhone: Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, Camera, then choose Never.
- Android: open the Camera app, go to its settings, and turn off Location tags (the name differs a little between phones).
- When sharing a single photo from an iPhone, tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn off Location.
What removing the details does not do
It does not change what can be seen in the picture. A street sign, a number plate, a letter on the table or a reflection can give away as much as the hidden notes. Look at the picture itself before you share it, and cover what should not be seen with Redact image.