Remove GPS location from your photos.

See what a photo gives away

If a photo has location data, the scan shows its coordinates and marks the spot on a world map. That map is drawn on your device, so your coordinates aren't sent to a map service. An optional link opens OpenStreetMap only if you choose to tap it.

Why remove GPS data

A photo taken at home can carry coordinates accurate enough to identify the building. This matters most when the original file is passed along by email, a shared folder, or a "send as document" option.

• Selling items online from home.
• Sharing family photos more widely.
• Posting anonymously.

Not everything is in the file

A clean file can still reveal a location through what's in the picture, such as street signs or a view from a window. Have a look before you share.

Want to do it with your phone's settings instead? See the guides for iPhone and Android.

How exact is a photo's location?

Phones work out a position from GPS, Wi-Fi, cell, and Bluetooth signals, as Apple's safety guide explains, and store it as coordinates. Four decimal places are precise to about 11 meters, which is close enough to pick out one house on a street. Indoors or in dense cities the result may drift, but you shouldn't count on that to protect you.

Which ways of sharing carry location?

• Higher risk: email attachments, cloud storage links, a "send as document" option in a messaging app, and direct uploads to small websites or forums. These often pass along the original file.
• Usually lower risk: a normal photo in a large social app, which typically re-saves the image. The company can still read the original on upload, though, and the app may ask for your location separately.

To find out what a particular app does, follow our simple test.

Stop new photos from saving location

On iPhone, go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, Location Services, Camera, and choose Never. To leave one photo's location out when you share it, Apple's steps are to tap Share, then Options, and turn off Location. On Android, look for a location or geotag setting in your camera app, as the name varies by brand. Our Android guide covers the common ones.

Turning it off isn't right for everyone. Location helps you organize trips and find memories, so some people prefer to leave it on and clean copies only when they share them outside the family.

Check the result

After cleaning, the tool scans the new copy and reports anything supported that remains. To confirm it yourself, select the downloaded file in the Metadata checker tab, and you should see no GPS location. This tool handles still images only. Videos can also store location, so they need a different tool.

Sources

• Apple: Manage location metadata in Photos