--- title: What your photos leak: EXIF metadata and GPS | daily.dev description: Photos taken with smartphones embed EXIF metadata including GPS coordinates precise to ~10 centimeters, timestamps, and device info. Major social platforms... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/what-your-photos-leak-exif-metadata-and-gps-9mmofpesk twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: What your photos leak: EXIF metadata and GPS | daily.dev og:description: Photos taken with smartphones embed EXIF metadata including GPS coordinates precise to ~10 centimeters, timestamps, and device info. Major social platforms... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/what-your-photos-leak-exif-metadata-and-gps-9mmofpesk og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/9MMoFpeSk.png og:image:alt: What your photos leak: EXIF metadata and GPS og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # What your photos leak: EXIF metadata and GPS **[Flavio Copes](https://daily.dev/sources/flaviocopes)** · 5 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Photos taken with smartphones embed EXIF metadata including GPS coordinates precise to ~10 centimeters, timestamps, and device info. Major social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp regular photos) strip this on upload, but email attachments, cloud storage links, WhatsApp 'send as document', and personal websites preserve it fully. The post explains how GPS coordinates are stored and converted, which services strip vs. preserve EXIF, and how to check or remove metadata — via a browser-based EXIF viewer using the FileReader API, the exiv2 command-line tool, or iOS's built-in share sheet option. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How precise is the GPS location stored in a photo's EXIF data? GPS coordinates in EXIF data are stored as decimal degrees with six decimal places, which resolves to roughly 10 centimeters of precision. A photo taken at home can pinpoint the exact location of that home. Coordinates are stored as degrees, minutes, and seconds plus a reference letter (N/S, E/W), convertible to decimal via degrees + minutes/60 + seconds/3600. _daily.dev surfaces practical privacy explainers like this for developers building photo or upload features._ ### Does WhatsApp strip EXIF metadata from photos? WhatsApp strips EXIF metadata when a photo is sent as a regular image, but preserves it fully when sent using the 'send as document' option, which people often use to keep original quality. Facebook, Instagram, and X also strip EXIF on upload, though the platforms read it first. Email attachments, cloud storage links, and personal websites typically preserve EXIF untouched. _developers weighing where to safely share images can find grounded comparisons like this on daily.dev._ ### How can I remove EXIF metadata from a JPEG using the command line? Running exiv2 rm photo.jpg removes all metadata from a JPEG file in place. Alternative methods include drawing the image onto an HTML canvas and re-exporting it, since canvases only store pixel data and produce a new file with no EXIF, or using the ImageOptim app on Mac. Screenshotting the photo also strips metadata but loses image quality. _daily.dev helps developers keep up with practical tooling tips for stripping metadata before sharing files._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Android now stops you sharing your location in photos](https://daily.dev/posts/android-now-stops-you-sharing-your-location-in-photos-iijps4b2o) · Terence Eden · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Hands-On: See Image Metadata Removal in Action](https://daily.dev/posts/hands-on-see-image-metadata-removal-in-action-wicxlwycu) · DEV · 4 upvotes · 0 comments - [Passkeys: An Overview](https://daily.dev/posts/passkeys-an-overview-yrt1mu6uv) · Security Boulevard · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Digital Travel App TripBFF Exposed Location Data Way Too Accurately](https://daily.dev/posts/digital-travel-app-tripbff-exposed-location-data-way-too-accurately-ebzgqu20q) · InfoSec Write-ups · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#javascript](https://daily.dev/tags/javascript), [#privacy](https://daily.dev/tags/privacy), [#image-processing](https://daily.dev/tags/image-processing) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/what-your-photos-leak-exif-metadata-and-gps-9mmofpesk) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"What your photos leak: EXIF metadata and GPS","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/what-your-photos-leak-exif-metadata-and-gps-9mmofpesk","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/what-your-photos-leak-exif-metadata-and-gps-9mmofpesk"},"datePublished":"2026-08-12T06:47:42.173Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T21:46:17.798Z","description":"Photos taken with smartphones embed EXIF metadata including GPS coordinates precise to ~10 centimeters, timestamps, and device info. 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A photo taken at home can pinpoint the exact location of that home. Coordinates are stored as degrees, minutes, and seconds plus a reference letter (N/S, E/W), convertible to decimal via degrees + minutes/60 + seconds/3600. daily.dev surfaces practical privacy explainers like this for developers building photo or upload features."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does WhatsApp strip EXIF metadata from photos?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"WhatsApp strips EXIF metadata when a photo is sent as a regular image, but preserves it fully when sent using the 'send as document' option, which people often use to keep original quality. Facebook, Instagram, and X also strip EXIF on upload, though the platforms read it first. Email attachments, cloud storage links, and personal websites typically preserve EXIF untouched. developers weighing where to safely share images can find grounded comparisons like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How can I remove EXIF metadata from a JPEG using the command line?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Running exiv2 rm photo.jpg removes all metadata from a JPEG file in place. Alternative methods include drawing the image onto an HTML canvas and re-exporting it, since canvases only store pixel data and produce a new file with no EXIF, or using the ImageOptim app on Mac. Screenshotting the photo also strips metadata but loses image quality. daily.dev helps developers keep up with practical tooling tips for stripping metadata before sharing files."}}]} ```