What a photo reveals about you

Beside the image, every photo file carries a layer of technical data: date, device, settings and often the exact place it was taken. We list what is in there, when it travels along to other people, and how to strip it.

A photo is more than the image you see. The moment a camera or phone takes a shot, it writes a layer of technical data into the same file. You see none of it while looking at the photo, but it travels along as soon as you forward the file or post it somewhere.

What a camera writes along

That layer is called EXIF: a fixed format where cameras, phones and editing software store their data. What exactly is in there differs per device, but this is almost always part of it:

The date and time of the shot, accurate to the second.
The make and model of the camera or phone. Some cameras add a serial number too.
The exposure details: shutter speed, aperture, ISO and focal length.
GPS coordinates and altitude, if location was switched on when the photo was taken.
Fields that editing software adds (XMP and IPTC), such as the program used, the author's name, keywords or a copyright line.

For yourself that is useful. Your photo app sorts by it, and years later you still know where a photo was taken and with which camera. The problem starts once a file leaves your own archive.

When that data travels along

Not every way of sharing gives away the same amount. If you send the original file, by email, AirDrop, as a document in a chat or as an upload to a forum or classifieds site, the whole layer goes with it. Whoever receives the photo can read it with a free tool.

WhatsApp and most social media strip the metadata from the copy other people get to see. The original you send does land on their servers, location included. A screenshot of a photo never has a capture location, because it was made by your screen and not by a camera.

Why it matters

One photo is rarely the issue. It is what appears once you put several of them side by side. An ad for a second-hand bike, a photo in a public group and a profile picture on a forum: together they yield coordinates, timestamps and a device that is the same in all three.

A photo taken at home carries the coordinates of your house inside the file, even when nothing recognisable is in the frame.

That is why it weighs heavier for photos of children than for a landscape. A snapshot in the back garden shows no street name, but the coordinates in the file point at the front door.

How to strip the data

Your phone and computer have built-in options for it. On an iPhone, tap the share button in Photos and then Options at the top; switch Location off before you share. In Google Photos, the sharing settings hold a toggle to leave the location out. On Windows you open the file properties, tab Details, and choose Remove Properties and Personal Information. On a Mac it goes through Preview: open the inspector with cmd+I, go to the GPS tab and remove the location info.

Those options mainly take out the location; the camera, time and software fields usually stay. To lose all of it at once, use our free view and remove EXIF data tool. It first shows what is in your photo and then makes a copy without metadata. Everything happens in your browser, the photo is not uploaded anywhere, and since only the metadata blocks are cut from the file the image stays identical byte for byte.

When you want to keep the data

Stripping is a choice per situation, not a standing habit. Within your own circle that layer is worth having: your photo platform uses it to order your archive by date and place, and years later you can still find out where a photo was taken. Strip the metadata before you store the photos and that is gone.

In Ohhi that layer stays inside your archive

In Ohhi we use date and location for what they are meant for: ordering your library and showing your trips on a map. They do not go to advertisers or other parties, and whoever shares an album with you only sees what is in that album. Create an account; there's always a free tier.