Before you freak out and delete your social media profiles, read to the end.
Hidden within every digital photo that’s taken with a smartphone or digital camera is a treasure trove of information about the image. This information is called “EXIF metadata” or “EXIF data” for short, and it’s often used by criminal organizations and governments alike to track their target’s location.
According to exifdata.com, “EXIF is short for Exchangeable Image File, a format that is a standard for storing interchange information in digital photography image files using JPEG compression.” In short, it’s how information such as timestamps and shutter speed are stored within images.
Not only that, some digital cameras and smartphones (generally iPhones) store GPS data in the EXIF metadata. This GPS data, if not purged, can be viewed by anyone who gets a hold of the photo. The awesome selfie that you posted recently on social media may contain GPS data of the exact location you took the photo.
I don’t think I need to explain what dangers you may face if the exact location of your home is known to violent criminals or begrudging exes.
More importantly, let’s focus on the solution. How can you remove sensitive EXIF data from digital photos you’ve already taken?
Well, a simple method is to manually remove EXIF data from your images, either in bulk or individually, before uploading them to the internet. To do this, follow the steps below.
- Connect your device (smartphone, digital camera, or SD card) to your computer.
- Ensure that you enable the appropriate option to access the files on your device.
- Select the image(s) you want to purge of EXIF data.
- Right-Click [an/the image] and select “Properties“.
- Mac Users: Press “Command + I“
- Select the “Details” tab in order to view the image’s metadata.
- Mac Users: Click the “Exif” tab in the information viewer.
- Click the “Remove Properties and Personal Information” link.
As for photos you’ve already uploaded to the internet, you may want to consider replacing them with the purged images. However, as they say, anything placed on the internet is there forever. So, unless your favorite social media platform programmatically removes EXIF data, your only option is to limit the risks going forward. Whomever already downloaded your photos may still have access to the GPS data on those pictures.
To prevent your smartphone (Android) from storing GPS data when you take a photo, follow the steps below:
- Open the “Camera” app.
- Click the “Settings” icon.
- Turn off the “Location tags” option.
You’re done!
Going forward, you can rest assured that no one can track your location using the EXIF data in photos you upload to the internet.