Most phones save the exact latitude and longitude of every photo they take. If the file keeps that data when you share it, anyone who receives it can read where you were.
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Updated 2026-10-20 · Written by the Untrace team
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How do you know a photo has GPS data?
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Location is stored in the photo's EXIF block, in fields called GPSLatitude and GPSLongitude, usually accurate to a few metres. Phones add it whenever the camera app has location access. The simplest check is to drop the photo into Untrace: it lists every metadata block it finds, including GPS, before changing anything.
Android: open the camera app, open its settings and switch off Location tags (the wording varies by manufacturer).
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This only protects photos you take from now on. Photos already on your phone keep their coordinates.
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Option 2: remove location when you share from your phone
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On iPhone, the share sheet has an Options button with a Location switch you can turn off for that share. Google Photos on Android offers a Remove location action in a photo's details. Both remove coordinates only. The camera model, timestamps and other EXIF fields stay in the file.
Untrace redraws the picture to pixels and writes a new file, so GPS, camera and time data are not carried over. It works offline from your file's point of view: nothing is uploaded.
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Check the result. Drop the cleaned file back into Untrace. It should report that nothing was found.
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Does social media remove GPS for you?
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Some large platforms remove location data from the version they display, but not all do, and policies change. Photos sent as an original file by email, a chat app's file option or a cloud link usually keep everything. Cleaning the file yourself means you do not depend on the platform.
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See what your own photo is hiding. Untrace lists every metadata block, then removes it, all inside your browser.
C2PA is an open standard from the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity. It lets software attach a cryptographically signed record to an image describing where it came from and how it was changed.
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Updated 2026-10-20 · Written by the Untrace team
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What is inside a C2PA manifest?
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The record, called a manifest, can list the tool that created or edited the file, the actions taken, when they happened and who signed it. In a JPEG it is stored in JUMBF boxes inside an APP11 segment. Cameras, editing apps and some AI image generators write these manifests, and some platforms read them to show a Content Credentials or AI info label.
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What can it prove?
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A valid manifest shows that a signer vouches for the recorded history and that the file has not been altered since signing. It does not prove the picture is true, and a missing manifest does not prove the picture is fake or real.
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Why does it often disappear?
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The manifest lives in the file, not in the pixels. Taking a screenshot, converting the format or re-saving through many apps drops it. Some platforms remove it on upload, others keep or read it. Researchers are pairing metadata with invisible watermarks and fingerprints so provenance can survive, but support is uneven.
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What does it mean for your privacy?
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Credentials can name your software, your account or organisation, and your editing steps, and that record goes wherever the file goes. If you want to share a picture without that history, you can scan and clean it in Untrace first, with nothing uploaded.
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Use it responsibly. Removing credentials is a privacy choice, not a licence to mislead. If you publish AI-generated or heavily edited work where disclosure is expected, such as news, contests or advertising, disclose it yourself. Pixel-level detectors and invisible watermarks are not affected by metadata removal.
EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a block of hidden information that cameras and phones write into a photo file. It travels with the picture unless something removes it.
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Updated 2026-10-20 · Written by the Untrace team
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What does EXIF data contain?
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Location: GPS latitude, longitude, altitude and direction.
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Device: camera or phone make and model, lens, and sometimes a serial number.
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Time: when the photo was taken and when it was edited.
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Settings: exposure, aperture, ISO, focal length and flash.
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Software: the app or editor that last saved the file.
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A thumbnail: a small embedded preview, which can differ from the visible image if the photo was cropped.
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Related blocks sit alongside EXIF: XMP and IPTC hold captions, creator names and copyright, and C2PA content credentials can hold a signed edit history (see What is C2PA?).
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Why does it matter for privacy?
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A photo of your front door shared with its GPS data tells the recipient where you live. A date and device model can link photos to one person. Journalists, sellers on marketplaces and anyone posting from home have good reason to check before sharing.
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How can you view EXIF data?
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On most computers, right-click the file and open its properties or info panel. The quickest complete view is to add the file to Untrace, which lists every metadata block, including ones the operating system does not show.
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How do you remove it?
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Editing tags one at a time risks missing a block. Untrace instead decodes the image to pixels and writes a fresh file, which leaves every metadata container behind, then re-reads the output to confirm nothing survived. For the location case specifically, see how to remove GPS from a photo.
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See what your own photo is hiding. Untrace lists every metadata block, then removes it, all inside your browser.