When taking an image with your phone, you’re also capturing a lot of information as metadata. Most camera apps will record your phone’s model, the time of day you took the photo, and even variables like the focal length and light exposure.

If your camera app has access to your location, the image could include the location of you when you took it. Sometimes, the information is precise enough to list the street name. So, how do you delete location details from photos you’ve already taken?

How to Remove Location Data From Photos on Android

If you’ve given your camera app access to your location, it’s going to automatically tag all your photos with the relevant location data as EXIF data. While this can be useful for archiving your gallery, it becomes a problem when you’re sharing the photos with other people or online—especially if they’re photos you’ve taken near or in your home.

Fortunately, you can remove the location from photos on Android in under 10 seconds.

  • Inside the Photos app, select the image you want to delete the location data of.
  • Tap on the three dots in the upper right corner.
  • Scroll down and tap on the three dots next to the location data.
  • Tap Remove.

How to Avoid Location Metadata Altogether

If removing geotags from every single photo before sharing sounds like a lot of work, consider disabling your camera app’s access to your location.

  • Go to Settings.
  • Scroll down to Apps and select your Camera app.
  • Tap on Permissions.
  • Disable location access by toggling off Your Location.

How to Remove Location Data From Photos on Windows 10

Maybe you've already transferred your photos from your phone to your PC or laptop without realizing they still had location data. Removing locations data directly on your phone isn't the only way; you can still do it directly on your Windows PC before sharing them online or with someone.

The process is just as simple to do on Windows as it is on Android devices.

Screenshot on removing location data on Windows 10
  • Right-click the photo you want to edit.
  • Click on Properties at the bottom of the list.
Screenshot on removing location data from photos
  • Select the Details tap from the Properties window.
  • Click on Remove Properties and Personal Information.
Screenshot of removing location data from photos
  • In the Remove Properties window, select the option Remove the following properties from this file.
  • Scroll down and check the Latitude and Longitude options under GPS.

You can take this opportunity to remove any other data and personal information from the image file.

  • Click OK.

Free Online Tools to Remove Location Data From Photos

If you don't like the idea of following the aforementioned steps for every one of your photographs before sharing them, there are many free online tools that remove the data for you. All you have to do is upload the image file, click a button, and download it anew.

One online tools that's easy to use and free is Ver EXIF. The website is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese.

Removing location data using online tool
  • Click Browse... under Upload a picture.
  • Click on Remove EXIF and an automatic download of your new image file will start.

If you're curious as to what data your images file carries:

Removing location data form image using online tool
  • Click View EXIF to see the EXIF data stored in your image file.
  • Click on Remove EXIF and an automatic download of your new image file will start.

Control What You Share

If you want to keep location data for personal use, but remove it before sharing, consider creating a copy or back up of your photos before removing location data.

Alternatively, You can take a screenshot of the photo, as that doesn’t transfer location data. Note that this would reduce the image’s resolution, which might not be great for posting on social media, but appropriate if you don’t want someone to publicly post an image you shared with them.