If you’re conscious about your privacy, you probably already know to install a VPN and avoid sharing personal information online, but did you know that you could be exposing your location simply by uploading a photo?
We’re not even talking about a photo of a local landmark or recognisable event – you might be sharing your location with a selfie, a photo of your dog or a close-up shot of your morning coffee. This is because your location, device settings and the date and time you shot the photo can be saved in the metadata of images.
The good news is that it’s easy to wipe this data if you don’t want anybody snooping on where you’ve been and when you were there. You don’t even need any special software – all you need is your photo and a device (we’ll be using a PC running Windows 11 in this guide).
Keep reading to learn how to remove metadata from your photos using a Windows PC, or scroll down to the Troubleshooting section to learn how to remove your location on an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
What you’ll need
The Short Version
- Right-click on the photo
- Select Properties
- Click Details
- Click Remove Properties And Personal Information
- Hit OK
How to remove metadata from your photos
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Step
1Right-click on the photo
We’ll be using a PC running Windows 11 in this guide, but you can scroll to the bottom of the page for the steps to remove metadata from photos on a Mac, iPhone or iPad.
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Step
2Select Properties
This is the option with the spanner icon.
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Step
3Click Details
This will take you to the photo’s metadata.
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Step
4Click Remove Properties And Personal Information
You can also scroll down to see all the information available on the file right now.
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Step
5Hit OK
Leave the first option checked if you want to erase all of the metadata, or click ‘Remove the following properties from this file’ to select the exact fields you wish to delete.
Troubleshooting
If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, you can remove metadata simply by opening the Photos app, opening your photo and tapping the ‘i’ icon. If you can see the map, tap ‘Adjust’ below that map and tap ‘No location’.
If you’re using a Mac, just open the Photos app, select the photos you want to delete metadata for, click ‘Choose Image’ and ‘Location’ then ‘Hide Location’.
