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How to remove EXIF and GPS data from photos

Every photo from a phone or camera carries hidden information: where it was taken, which device took it, and when. Before you post, sell or send a picture, it is worth removing it. Here are the ways that work on Windows and Mac, from the quickest to the most thorough.

Updated October 18, 2026

What is EXIF data, and why remove it?

EXIF is a block of text stored inside the image file. Depending on the device it can include the GPS coordinates where the photo was taken, the camera or phone model, the date and time, and the editing software used. Photos can also carry other labels (XMP, IPTC and, increasingly, C2PA “Content Credentials”).

Some websites strip this data when you upload, but many places do not — email, some messaging apps, forums, marketplaces and file sharing. Do not count on it. If a photo of your home, your child or your desk is going somewhere public, remove the location first.

Method 1 — Windows File Explorer (built in)

  1. Right-click the photo and choose Properties.
  2. Open the Details tab.
  3. Click “Remove Properties and Personal Information”.
  4. Choose “Remove the following properties from this file”, tick what you want gone (or Select All) and click OK.

Limits: it mainly works for JPEG files, may not cover PNG or HEIC, and it can leave some edit-history data behind. Work on a copy if the original matters.

Method 2 — Mac Preview (location only)

  1. Open the photo in Preview.
  2. Press Cmd+I to open the Inspector and go to the GPS tab.
  3. Click “Remove Location Info”.

Limits: this removes the location only. The camera model, date and other tags stay.

Method 3 — Stop recording the location in the first place

  • iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Camera → Never.
  • Android: open the Camera app’s settings and switch off location tags (the wording varies by phone).

This does not clean photos you already took, but it stops the problem from growing.

Method 4 — ExifTool (free, command line)

ExifTool is the most thorough free tool and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. To remove everything from a photo:

exiftool -all= photo.jpg

By default ExifTool keeps a backup named photo.jpg_original. If you add -overwrite_original it replaces your file — only do that on copies.

Method 5 — MyPixelGuard (offline, no command line)

MyPixelGuard is a desktop app for Mac and Windows that shows you what is hiding inside a photo before you remove it, then cleans it in one click. Everything happens on your own computer — nothing is uploaded and no internet is needed.

  1. Drop one photo or a whole folder into MyPixelGuard.
  2. Read what it found: GPS location, device, dates, AI labels and Content Credentials.
  3. Click Clean. The cleaned copies are saved in a folder you choose; your originals are never overwritten.
  4. MyPixelGuard re-opens each saved file to confirm the data is really gone.

The same app can also blur faces and text, remove backgrounds, and convert, resize and compress images.

How to check that it worked

Open the cleaned file’s properties (Windows: right-click → Properties → Details; Mac: Preview → Cmd+I) and confirm there is no GPS section and no camera model. Better still, use a tool that reads the file back for you, as MyPixelGuard does.

Frequently asked questions

Does removing EXIF data reduce image quality?

No. EXIF is text stored beside the pixels. Removing it does not change how the picture looks, though a tool that also re-compresses the image can.

Do WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook remove EXIF data?

Many large platforms remove location data from the public copy, but this varies and can change. Do not rely on it for photos you send as files, by email, or to smaller sites.

Can I remove metadata from many photos at once?

Yes. ExifTool, ExifCleaner and MyPixelGuard all handle whole folders.

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