Whenever you take a photo or create an image using your phone or computer, your personal data stays in the image as metadata. This includes such information as your phone or camera type, location, even names, and numbers might be attached to the image as metadata. Before uploading a picture to the Internet or on social media, make sure that it doesn’t contain any information you’re not ready to share.
Below you’ll find the tips on how to remove your personal info from pictures.
Check the metadata
First, check your pictures’ metadata. The way how to do that depends on the platform you’re using, both mobile and desktop.
iOS
If you use an iOS device (like iPad, iPhone, and so on) you’ll have to use a third-party app. Try Metapho, a free to use app which gives you detailed information about the metadata. Downloaded and install the app, then navigate to a photo and look at the listed data. You may find the date and time the picture was taken, as well as your location.
Android
If you have an android phone, you have two options. In your gallery, click the ‘i’ symbol to find some metadata. But if you want to see the information in more detail, use a third-party application. Search for ‘Photo Exif Editor’ in Play Store and install the app.
It will give you more in-depth information about your photos’ metadata. There’s even a photo map in which you can see just how much location data is being saved on your pictures. Choose the photo you’d like to share and look at the ‘location’ field. If a map shows up, remove that information before uploading the picture.
Windows Desktop
Uploading your pictures to your desktop PC before sharing them on the Internet can be a good strategy. In this case, you don’t need to download any apps on your phone. On windows, you right-click the image file and select ‘properties’.
Below the ‘details’ tab, you’ll find all of the metadata. If there’s something under the GPS tag, clear that information before sharing the image.
MACOS
It’s even easier to check your images’ metadata on MACOS. Navigate to the image in Finder, and choose the 4th icon in the first row at the top of the window.
After that, you’ll be in a gallery viewing mode. Scroll through your photos, and when you find the necessary image, the metadata will be shown on the right-hand side. If longitude and latitude information is there, you should remove it before uploading the image.
Deleting the Metadata
iOS
On Apple devices, there are two options to remove the metadata. You can buy an app that will do it for you, or you can synchronize the photos to your Mac and then go from there. If you choose the first options, try out an app like ViewExif, with the help of which you can save or share an image without any metadata included.
This app’s functions are similar to Metapho, but there’s no free version. ViewExif allows you to locate the photo you want to share directly on your iOS device. To do this, press share, then select ViewExif. By doing that you can share photos from your built-in photo browser without actually opening the app.
Android
If you’re using Android, install the Photo Exif Editor in order to remove the metadata. Open the app and navigate to the photo you’d like to share. In the top-right corner, click on the crossed-out ‘Exif’ symbol. After that, you’ll be able to remove particular types of data or all of it. Save the image then, and upload it safely.
Windows Desktop
There are several free tools to use if you want to remove metadata. Probably the best one is a browser tool called Verexif. It can remove all of the metadata from your images. Just go to Verexif.com, upload the photo you’d like to remove the info from, and finally save a copy to your PC.
MACOS
Open the photo in Preview, proceed to ‘tools’ and select ‘Show Inspector’. Then click on the (i) tab, the ‘Exif’ tab, and after that, you’ll be able to simply delete any metadata. If you’d like to clear everything, simply use the same browser tool as above from Verexif.com.
