via Instagram
As smartphones started to take off in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, people started to come to a horrifying realization. The camera in their pocket had GPS in it, and was attaching their precise location to photos they uploaded online. Someone could just download the photo from whatever service it was uploaded to and pull out the EXIF metadata to see exactly where someone lived. It was a stalker’s dream, and everyone else’s nightmare.
Back then, we began spreading the news and detailed how people could protect themselves by removing metadata from their photos before uploading them. However, over time, services started doing that for users. They’d take your photo, strip the metadata, and share the version without metadata so the people seeing it couldn’t easily stalk you. It’s rare an app doesn’t strip metadata before making it publicly available.
However, the problem never actually went away. It’s time to have the conversation about photo metadata again. Instagram’s latest feature can show your data on a map. Instagram does require you opt-in to start data sharing, but if you’re not paying attention, you could enable it accidentally. It also seems to only show location data when it’s tagged. However, with access to your location, you may do this without thinking. You may not realize just how much location data you’re actually sharing with each photo, each check-in, and who’s seeing it. That data can tell people where you live, when you’re not home, and where you frequently go throughout the day.
Obviously privacy conscious users may not turn on the feature, but that doesn’t change the fact that Meta—or anyone you’re giving photos to—could potentially collect that location data from your photos. Even if you turn off implicit location sharing in your Instagram app, if you upload a photo with location metadata, Meta will have it. What they do with it is anyone’s guess, but they do collect metadata to target you better with ads, so it’s hard to imagine they’d abandon a juicy piece of data like your current location. So here’s two steps you can take to protect your photos and the metadata they contain on any platform, not just Instagram.
In This Article:
Removing Metadata
EXIF data, or metadata, are pieces of information stored in a digital photo file. Unless you knew to look for it, you may never know it was there. The data contains things like details about the camera that took the photo, the lens used, and, if the device that took the photo has location features, it will include the precise location that the photo was taken. This can be handy for sorting your photos, arranging vacation photos, that sort of thing, but, obviously, hidden data that contains your personal location is something you may not want to share online. You can remove this data yourself though. Here’s how.
As someone who frequently uploads photos online, I’ve got a few ways of doing this. On macOS, I usually load up the photo in Affinity Photo, save it in whatever format I want, and strip the metadata while saving it. But this is more of an involved process. Most people just want to select a photo, tap a button, and have the metadata stripped from it. This is great, but make sure the app you’re using doesn’t have access to the internet. You’re giving these apps access to your metadata, you’ll want to make sure they’re never storing it themselves. You can do this by checking privacy policies. Or, you can check out the suggestions I have below, because I’ve already done the work for you.
iOS and macOS: Make a Shortcut
For iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, you can use the same solution across each platform. However, you are going to have to make it. Fortunately, it’s quite easy! You’ll just make a shortcut.
- First, open the shortcuts app.
- Tap the plus button to make a new shortcut.
- Before adding any actions, press the ‘i’ icon at the bottom.
- Enable “Show in Share Sheet” and “Use as Quick Action” in the details page.
- In the Privacy tab, turn off allow running when locked. Then tap Done.
- This will create the first action for the new shortcut. You only need to focus on the last part, where it says, “If there is no input:” below, it’ll say “Continue.” You don’t want that. Tap “Continue,” and in the popup that comes up, select “Ask For.” It may automatically select “Photos” for the input. If it doesn’t, tap the item to the right of the “Ask For” text, and select photos.
- In the search bar at the bottom that reads “Search Actions” type “Convert Image,” or select that as it becomes available. Tap “JPEG” in the new action, and select “Match Input.” This will prevent it from changing the file type.
- Next tap the “>” arrow next to “Match Input.” This will expand an option that says “Preserve Metadata.” Obviously, we’re turning that off. Next, add the final action. Tap the search bar and select “Save to Photos.” That will add the “Converted Image” to “Recents.” There’s nothing to change here.
- Tap the down arrow next to the shortcut name at the top. Select “Rename.” I named mine “Remove EXIF.”
I will usually customize the share sheet action to only take photos or videos as well. However, this solution only works for photos. You’ll have to make a separate one for videos. It’s a similar process, you just use the “Encode” task in place of the “Convert” action. Then you ensure it’s using passthrough quality and simply setting no metadata. This will remove location in my testing. Apple could change this, since we didn’t specify that the location data should be removed, but it works for now. Keep an eye on it though.
To use the shortcut, you could add it to your home screen or use the share sheet in iOS or quick actions on macOS. This method does require the most setup, but it is the fastest to use later.
iOS and macOS: Metapho
Another option, if you just want an app that can do all of that more easily, is Metapho. I’ve been using Metapho for years, and only decided to try the Shortcut-based solution today. Metapho does not collect your metadata information. It works for photos and videos alike. Just select the photo or video you want to remove EXIF data from, and either tap the remove EXIF data button in the lower left corner or scroll to the bottom of the detail view and select “Remove Metadata.” This one is super easy to use, but it is an additional app. On macOS you can drag and drop photos to it, and on iOS you can enable access to as much of your photo library as you’re comfortable with, and remove metadata on each image you want.
Android: ExifEraser and/or Aves
On Android, I use an app called ExifEraser. This is an open-sourced app, so you can check that it’s not collecting data yourself or trust the developers who took a look at the source code. The data safety section in Google Play also outlines that the app collects no data. This is a simple app similar to Metapho. Select the image you want to remove metadata from and remove it. I also don’t give my Android phone access to my location in most apps, because, you know, Google. However, if you regularly use Android and don’t just develop apps for it, that may not be something you’re willing to do.
ExifEraser can’t remove video metadata. I personally use a non-Google app for managing my media library on my device, Aves. Aves has a three dot menu that allows you to edit the date, time, location, tags, and other info for a photo or video. While this may not be as seamless as a one button kind of app, it does allow you to quickly remove this metadata from your media.
macOS
You can use the “Get Info” feature in Finder by right clicking a file and selecting it to see if a file has metadata you’d prefer to not have there. However, what if you want to remove it just as quickly? Unfortunately, the Get Info windows doesn’t help you with this.
Fortunately, you can remove location data in Apple’s built-in photo viewing app, Preview. Just open the file you want to remove location data from. Click the ‘i’ icon in the menu bar or select Tools -> Show Inspector. Select the ‘i’ icon in the tab bar in the inspector window that opens. Tap “Remove Location Info.” It’s gone! Now save the file with Command + S or from File -> Save. You can also export it to another format if you’d like. This method won’t remove other EXIF data you may want to remove though, like camera information. Apple, frustratingly, doesn’t want you removing all this data because they use it for features they offer in their photos app. However, you can use the Shortcuts or Metapho options I described above instead.
Windows
I cant easily test this, as I don’t have a Windows machine outside of rebooting my MacBook Pro, which I’m using to type this up on. However, multiple guides online confirm that you can remove location data from photos by selecting the image you want to modify, right clicking and choosing “Properties,” then “Details.” At the bottom, you can select “Remove Properties and Personal Information.” You can either make a new copy or modify the file directly from the remove properties window that opens. It’s appalling that Microsoft’s Windows would have the easiest option available here.
Limiting Access to Photos
On most operating systems now, you can limit the access of apps to specific files or folders. On iOS, you can ensure you choose “Limit Access” for photos. This way, you can only select the photos you want to share with the app. Otherwise, a nefarious app, not necessarily Instagram, but perhaps some image sharing platform, could comb through all of your photos, getting the locations from all of them. By choosing limit access and only adding photos to Instagram once you’re ready to share them, you can ensure you’ve already removed the metadata from each photo or video before Meta or anyone else gets their grubby hands on it.
You can access the privacy settings for photos in Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos on iOS. While you’re in there, take a look at your other services, such as Location Services, Tracking, Contacts, and Calendars.
Turn off Location Sharing Everywhere
This goes without saying, but you should also turn off location services for most apps. For items that do require location services, you can change them to “While Using,” so they can’t read your location in the background. Obviously don’t give your location data to the kind of companies that sell ad space based on your data, like Google, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Amazon, or other such data collection companies. These companies can make you a more profitable user by collecting as much information on you as they can. Don’t make it easy for them.
Stay Alert!
Never just tap a popup! Always read what’s being presented to you. Be vigilant about what apps get what permissions. Be especially careful around camera access, photo access, location services, microphone access, your contacts, and your calendars. Check which apps have access to which privacy settings frequently, especially if you’re like me and have hoarded apps over the years. Privacy is something you will always have to fight for, and in an increasingly dangerous world, where people can be arrested or investigated for their identity or political beliefs, privacy will become vital for many people. If you’re not going to protect yourself, at least ensure you’re not endangering anyone else with the data you’re sharing.