How to remove location and EXIF data from photos on any device

The most reliable way to share a photo without its location is to turn the location option off in the share sheet (iPhone) or in your camera/gallery settings (Android), or to strip the file with a metadata remover before you send it. Every operating system now has some built-in control, but each one covers only part of the metadata, and menu names shift between versions. Below are the built-in routes for iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac, what each one misses, and when a dedicated tool like the browser-based EXIF remover is the better choice.

First decision: stop it, or strip it?

There are two different problems. One is future photos: if you never want your camera to record where you are, you can switch location off for the camera app and new pictures will have no GPS block at all. The other is existing photos: your library already contains thousands of tagged images, and you only want to clean the ones you share. Most people want to keep location in their own library — it powers "places" albums and memories — and remove it from shared copies. Keep that in mind as you choose a method.

iPhone and iPad

Remove location when sharing

1. In Photos, select the picture (or several) and tap the Share button.
2. At the top of the share sheet, tap Options.
3. Turn off Location. On recent iOS versions there is also an All Photos Data switch that removes more of the metadata when it is turned off.
4. Tap Done and share as normal. The setting applies to that share only.

This is quick and works well for Messages, Mail and AirDrop. It does not change the photo in your library, and you need to remember to do it every time.

Remove or change location on a photo in your library

Open the photo, swipe up (or tap the info button) to see the details panel, tap Adjust next to the location and choose No Location. This edits the library copy, so any later share will not carry those coordinates.

Stop recording location for new photos

Go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera and select Never. New photos will have no GPS block. Date, device model and software tags are still written, because they are not controlled by location permissions.

A note on HEIC

iPhones save photos as HEIC by default. When you share to most apps or email, iOS converts to JPEG automatically, and the share-sheet options above still apply. If you transfer originals to a computer and want to use a JPEG-based tool, set Settings › Camera › Formats to Most Compatible for future shots, or export as JPEG from the computer.

Android

Android varies more by manufacturer, so look for these options under similar names.

Stop recording location

Open your camera app's settings and turn off the option usually called Save location, Location tags or GPS tag. Alternatively, go to the system Settings › Apps › Camera › Permissions › Location and set it to Don't allow.

Remove location when sharing

Google Photos has a setting that removes geo-location from items you share by link; look under its settings for the sharing section. On Samsung phones, the Gallery share screen has had a Remove location data toggle in recent One UI versions. These options cover location only — device model and timestamps usually remain.

Clean files directly

Because the EXIF remover runs in the browser, it works in Chrome or Firefox on Android too: open the page, choose the photos from your gallery, remove metadata and download the clean copies.

Windows

1. Right-click the photo in File Explorer and choose Properties.
2. Open the Details tab and click Remove Properties and Personal Information at the bottom.
3. Choose Create a copy with all possible properties removed (safest), or pick individual fields to remove from the original.

You can select several files first to process them together. The limitation is in the word "possible": Windows removes the fields its property system knows about, and has been known to leave some blocks — such as maker notes, embedded thumbnails or vendor XMP — in place. If you need certainty, re-check the copy in the EXIF viewer, which lists anything left behind.

Mac

Preview

Open the image in Preview, choose Tools › Show Inspector, open the GPS tab (shown only if the photo has location) and click Remove Location Info, then save. This removes the GPS block but leaves the rest of the EXIF data.

Photos app

Select a photo and choose Image › Location › Hide Location to remove it from the library copy. When exporting with File › Export, untick Location information in the export options so the exported file carries no coordinates.

Comparison of built-in methods

What about social networks and chat apps?

Many large social platforms re-process uploads and remove most metadata from the public copy. That is helpful but not a guarantee: policies are not always documented, they change, and the service itself may read the data on upload before discarding it from what others see. Sending a picture as a "file" or "document" in a messaging app, attaching it to email, or sharing a cloud-storage link usually delivers the original bytes, metadata included. The safe rule is simple: if the location or device would matter, clean the file yourself before it leaves your device.

Recommended workflow

1. Keep location on in your camera if you value "places" albums, or turn it off if you rarely want it.
2. For everyday sharing from a phone, use the share-sheet or gallery options above.
3. For anything public, sold, or sensitive, run the file through a full remover and check the result shows no GPS, serial number or thumbnail.
4. Remember that the picture itself — house numbers, school logos, reflections — can reveal as much as metadata. Crop or blur before sharing.

Curious exactly what each tag says about you? The companion article, what EXIF data reveals, goes field by field.

Menu names in this guide reflect recent versions of each operating system and can differ on older versions or between Android manufacturers.