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Privacy6 min read

Does your photo contain its location? How to check

Often, yes. Phones save the GPS position in a photo's hidden EXIF data whenever the camera is allowed to use location. Here is how to check a particular photo, what happens when you share it, and how to take the location out first.

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A photo taken on a phone usually contains the place it was taken, as GPS coordinates in its EXIF metadata, if the camera app had permission to use location. Screenshots and images saved from websites usually don't. The only way to be sure about a particular file is to look.

Check a photo in your browser

  1. Open the Image Metadata ViewerThe Metadata Viewer reads the file in your browser; it isn't uploaded to ImageDoctor.
  2. Add the photoJPG, PNG, WebP, TIFF and AVIF files are read. HEIC photos can only be opened in browsers that support HEIC, which in practice means Safari.
  3. Look for a GPS sectionIf the photo has coordinates, they are listed with the camera, date and other details. The “View on a map” link opens OpenStreetMap — only if you click it.

Check on your phone or computer

  • iPhone and iPad: open the photo in Photos and swipe up, or tap the ⓘ button. If a location is stored, a map appears.
  • Android: open the photo in Google Photos or your gallery app and swipe up or open its details. A location is shown when one is stored; the exact menus vary by manufacturer.
  • Windows: right-click the file, choose Properties, then the Details tab, and look for a GPS section.
  • Mac: open the photo in Preview, choose Tools → Show Inspector, and look for a GPS tab.

What happens when you share it

It depends entirely on how the file travels. Many large social networks strip location data from photos they publish, but that is their decision, and it can change. Email attachments, cloud-storage links, file-transfer services and messaging apps sending a photo "as a file" or "as a document" generally deliver the original file — metadata included.

On an iPhone, the share sheet has an Options button with a Location switch that controls whether the location is included for that share.

Remove the location before sharing

  1. Open the Metadata RemoverThe Metadata Remover shows what the file contains before cleaning it.
  2. Clean and downloadJPG, PNG, WebP and GIF files are cleaned without re-encoding, so the picture is untouched. The saved copy ends in “-clean”.
  3. Check the comparisonThe cleaned file is read back and compared with the original, confirming the GPS and camera details are gone.

Resizing, compressing or converting an image here also removes metadata by default. To stop photos recording location in the first place: on iPhone, Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Camera → Never; on Android, turn off the location option in your camera app's settings.

What removing metadata doesn't remove

Metadata is only the hidden part. A photo can still give away where it was taken through what it shows: street signs, house numbers, a distinctive view from a window, a car's number plate, a reflection in glasses or a mirror. Look at the picture itself before you post it, and blur or pixelate anything that identifies a place or a person.

Image Metadata ViewerRead EXIF, camera, GPS and colour data straight from the file without uploading it.Image Metadata RemoverStrip EXIF, GPS and camera information before sharing, and compare what was removed.

Common questions

Usually not: a screenshot isn't taken by the camera, so it normally has no GPS coordinates. It can still contain other details such as the device and time — and whatever is visible on screen.

It varies by app and by how you send it; sending a photo as a file or document often keeps the original. If it matters, remove the location yourself before sending.

No. It removes hidden details such as GPS coordinates, but anything visible in the picture — faces, signs, landmarks, reflections — stays.

Tools in this article

Image Metadata ViewerRead EXIF, camera, GPS and colour data straight from the file without uploading it.Image Metadata RemoverStrip EXIF, GPS and camera information before sharing, and compare what was removed.Blur & PixelateHide faces, addresses and account numbers by painting blur or pixelation over selected areas.

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