Free tool
Remove location and metadata from a photo
Add a photo to see what it carries: the GPS location, the date, the camera and serial numbers. The tool removes all of it and keeps the picture as it is. JPEG, PNG and WebP keep every image byte. Nothing is uploaded, because the work happens in this browser.
Runs on this device. Your photos are not uploaded.
How it works
A photo file has two parts: the picture, and blocks of text and numbers about the picture. The camera writes these blocks. Common names for them are EXIF, XMP and IPTC.
- Read. The tool reads the file in your browser and lists what the blocks say: the location, the date, the camera, serial numbers and names.
- Remove. It copies the file without those blocks. In a JPEG it drops the APP1 (EXIF and XMP), APP13 (IPTC) and comment segments, plus any extra image after the main one. In a PNG it drops the eXIf, tEXt, iTXt, zTXt and tIME chunks. In a WebP it drops the EXIF and XMP chunks.
- Keep. It keeps the color profile, so colors look the same. If the phone stored the photo sideways, it keeps the one rotation tag.
- Save. You download each clean copy, or all of them in one zip file. Your original files do not change.
HEIC and AVIF files store metadata in a different way. The tool writes empty blocks over the EXIF and XMP data inside the file, so the file keeps its exact size and the picture data stays as it is.
Questions people ask
Does this tool upload my photos?
No. The page reads each photo in your browser and writes the clean copy in your browser. No photo, file name or location goes to our server or to anyone else. To check, load this page, turn off Wi-Fi, and add a photo. The tool still works.
What metadata does a photo carry?
A phone photo usually holds EXIF data: the GPS location and altitude, the date and time, the camera and lens model, and the software version. Some cameras add serial numbers. Editing apps add XMP data, such as edit history and place names. News and stock photos often carry IPTC data: names, captions and copyright.
Does removing metadata lower the photo quality?
No. For JPEG, PNG and WebP, the tool copies the image data byte for byte and removes only the metadata blocks. There is no new compression. For HEIC and AVIF, the tool clears the metadata inside the file and leaves the picture data as it is.
How do I remove the location from a photo on iPhone?
In Photos, select the photo, tap Share, tap Options, then turn off Location before you share. To remove it from the photo itself, open the photo, tap More, tap Adjust Info, tap Adjust Location, then tap No Location. Apple's guide lists both steps. The share option covers only the location, not the other metadata.
How do I remove the location from a photo on Android?
In Google Photos, open the photo, tap More, tap Edit, then choose Remove location. For shared albums, open the album's Options and turn off Share photo locations. Other Android photo apps use other menus. This page works on Android too: open it in Chrome and add the photo.
Why does the clean photo still show the right way up?
Phones store some photos sideways and add a rotation tag. If a photo has that tag, the clean copy keeps it as the only EXIF field, 26 bytes long. It holds no camera, date or location data. Without it, the photo would show sideways.
Sources
- Manage location metadata in Photos (Apple Personal Safety User Guide) · checked Oct 3, 2026
- Edit or remove a photo's location (Google Photos Help, Android) · checked Oct 3, 2026
York Vault
Share without the location, every time
York Vault keeps your photos encrypted on your phone. When you share or export from York Vault, it removes the location, camera serial, device model and dates by default, and shows what it removes first. The original in your library keeps everything, encrypted.
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