How to strip EXIF and GPS out of a photo
A JPEG is more than pixels. Tucked into the header is the camera body, the lens, the exposure, the date to the second, often the camera's serial number, and if the shot came from a phone or a GPS enabled body, the coordinates of where you stood. Most of the time none of that matters. When it does matter, it matters a lot.
- What is EXIF data in a photo?
- A block of information stored inside the image file: camera make and model, often the serial number, exposure settings, the capture time to the second, the software that edited it, and on…
- Does removing EXIF data reduce image quality?
- No. Metadata sits in the file header, separate from the image data. Removing it changes the file size slightly and leaves the pixels untouched.
- How do I remove GPS data without uploading my photo?
- Use a browser based tool that processes the file locally, such as the Kepla metadata remover, or on a Mac use Preview: Tools, Show Inspector, GPS tab, Remove Location Info.
What is in the file
Open any camera JPEG in a metadata viewer and you will typically find these fields.
- Camera and lens: make, model, and on most bodies the serial number. The serial number is the one photographers do not expect. It links every frame you have ever published to the same body.
- Exposure: shutter, aperture, ISO, focal length, flash, white balance. Harmless, and useful to other photographers.
- Timestamps: capture time to the second, usually in local time with no zone, sometimes with a modify time that reveals when you edited it.
- GPS: latitude, longitude and often altitude. Standard on phones. Present on any body with GPS or a paired phone app.
- Software and edit history: which version of which editor touched it.
- Thumbnails: an embedded preview that on some older pipelines still shows the uncropped original.
You can see all of this yourself with the EXIF viewer, which reads the file in your browser without uploading it.
When to care
Not always. Stripping metadata from a portfolio image throws away information that helps you and helps other photographers, and it removes your copyright field if you set one. It matters in these cases.
- Anything shot at a private home. A newborn session, a boudoir shoot, an in home family session. The coordinates are the client's front door, and they are in every frame.
- Photographs of children, for the same reason, with a lower tolerance for error.
- Anyone being photographed who has a safety reason to not be found. You will not always be told.
- Documentary and press work where a subject could be identified by location and time together.
- Anything you post to a platform that keeps the original, as opposed to the ones that strip metadata on upload. Which platforms strip and which keep changes without announcement, so do not count on it.
The rule that holds up in real work: strip location from anything shot where someone lives or sleeps, and leave the rest alone unless there is a reason.
How to remove it
In the browser, nothing uploaded. The metadata remover runs entirely on your machine. The file never leaves the tab, which matters when the whole point is privacy. Drop the photo in, get a clean copy out. No account, and it never asks for your email.
On a Mac, without any tool. Preview can do a partial job. Open the image, then Tools, Show Inspector, the GPS tab, then Remove Location Info. It removes coordinates and leaves the rest, which is often what you want.
In bulk, on the command line. If you have exiftool installed, this does the job.
exiftool -gps:all= -o clean/ *.jpg # coordinates only
exiftool -all= -o clean/ *.jpg # everythingThe -o writes copies into a clean folder instead of overwriting your originals, which is the version of this command you want.
What not to do. Do not rely on a screenshot, which changes the pixels as well as the metadata, and do not rely on a platform stripping it for you.
What you should not strip
Stripping everything is a blunt instrument. Two fields are worth keeping on purpose.
- Copyright and creator. If you set them, they are the only claim of authorship traveling with the file.
exiftool -all= -tagsfromfile @ -copyright -artistclears the file and puts those two back. - Color profile. Not strictly EXIF, but some crude strippers take the ICC profile with everything else and the image shifts. Check one file before you run a batch of four hundred.
And keep an untouched master. Metadata removal only goes one way. Once the coordinates are gone, they are gone.
FAQ
What is EXIF data in a photo?
A block of information stored inside the image file: camera make and model, often the serial number, exposure settings, the capture time to the second, the software that edited it, and on GPS enabled cameras and phones the coordinates where the photo was taken.
Does removing EXIF data reduce image quality?
No. Metadata sits in the file header, separate from the image data. Removing it changes the file size slightly and leaves the pixels untouched.
How do I remove GPS data without uploading my photo?
Use a browser based tool that processes the file locally, such as the Kepla metadata remover, or on a Mac use Preview: Tools, Show Inspector, GPS tab, Remove Location Info.
Do social platforms strip metadata automatically?
Most strip most of it on upload, but which fields and which platforms changes without notice, and some keep the original file available. Strip it yourself if it matters rather than relying on the platform.
Should I remove EXIF from every photo I deliver?
No. It is useful information and it carries your copyright field. Strip location from anything shot where someone lives or sleeps, and leave the rest unless there is a specific reason.
Never cull alone at 1 AM again.
Kepla for Mac clears the obvious misses from a card, names the reason on every frame it sets aside, and leaves the choosing to you. Nothing is ever deleted, moved or renamed. Free through the private preview. The first hundred photographers keep it at $99 a year.