How to Remove Location Data When Sharing Photos on iPhone
Turn Off Location Data When Sharing One Photo (or Group of Photos)
If you have Location Services enabled for the Camera app on your iPhone or iPad, every photo you take includes GPS info about where it was taken. Starting with from the release of iOS 13, though, you can decide that you want to share images without including any location data.
To get started, open the Photos app and browse to a photo (or photos) you want to share without location data. To share multiple photos, select and tap each one, and then tap the Share button. To share a single photo, tap it, and then tap the Share button at the bottom left.
In the Share menu that appears, tap “Options” at the top of the screen (it’s under the number of photos you selected).
If you see “Location Included” next to “Options,” this means location data is currently enabled for that photo or photos. We’re about to change that, though.
In the Options menu that appears, look for the “Include” section. Toggle-Off the “Location” option for the selected photos.
If you don’t see the “Location” option here, then either location data is turned off for the Camera app (see below), or no location data is associated with that particular photo.
Tap “Done” to return to the Share menu. You should now see “No Location” under the photo selection message.
Now, whether you share your photo via SMS, email, or on an app, no location data will be included.
Keep in mind, however, this method will only work for this one instance. The photo’s location info is still stored on your iPhone. If you want to share it again in the future without location info, you’ll have to repeat the process above.
Even Better: Turn Off Location in the Camera App
If you find yourself frequently disabling the location data before sharing photos, you might want to consider turning it off in the Camera app. This way, none of your new photos will include location data.
To turn off Camera location access, open “Settings,” and then navigate to Privacy > Camera. In the “Allow Location Access” section, tap “Never.”
You should however note that you would not be able to take advantage of any features that rely on location data after you do this. For example, the Photos app won’t be able to show where you took your photos on a map or group photos you’ve taken by location.
While any photos you take in the future won’t include GPS metadata, all of those you took before turning off this feature will still include it.
If you want to permanently remove all location data from every photo you have taken in the past, you’ll have to use a utility that will allow you to modify or remove each photo’s EXIF metadata. This process can be confusing, so it’s usually best left as a last resort for situations in which maintaining privacy is extremely important.
Stay safe, and good luck!
