I'm not being dramatic here. This actually happens. Every single photo you take with location services on carries this data. And while some social media platforms strip it out (sometimes, if you're lucky), sharing via email or WhatsApp or cloud links? That location data travels with the image.
The annoying part? Most methods for removing GPS data are either fiddly, incomplete, or they solve a privacy problem by creating a different privacy problem. More on that in a minute.
I'm going to walk through your actual options in 2026, from the stuff built into your phone to specialised apps. No fluff. Just what actually works and what doesn't.
What GPS Data Is Actually in Your Photos
Quick technical bit. When you snap a photo with location services enabled, your phone embeds GPS coordinates into something called EXIF metadata. Latitude, longitude, sometimes altitude. Some phones even record which direction you were facing.
This isn't hidden away or encrypted. It's sitting there in a standardised format that literally any software can read. Your camera doesn't flash up a warning saying "GPS coordinates now embedded!" It just does it. Quietly. To every photo.
I've written more about all the other stuff hidden in your photos (camera serial numbers, editing history, the lot) in this article. But for now, let's focus on getting that location data out.
Method 1: iPhone's Built-in Options
Apple gives you two ways to deal with this. Neither is brilliant, but they exist.
Turn Off Location for the Camera
Go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services. Scroll down to Camera and set it to "Never".
Done. Future photos won't have GPS data. But (and this is a big but) your existing photo library? Still geotagged. Thousands of photos with location data baked in. This setting does nothing for those.
Remove Location When You Share
When you're about to share a photo, tap Share, look for "Options" at the top, and toggle off "Location".
The problem? You have to remember to do this. Every. Single. Time. Miss it once and you've just sent your GPS coordinates to whoever got that photo. And honestly, who's going to remember a tiny toggle when you're quickly sharing something?
The Real Problem
iPhone's approach has issues:
One photo at a time. No batch processing for your existing library.
You need perfect memory. Forget that toggle once and you've blown it.
It doesn't tell you what else is in there. GPS is just one piece of metadata.
No permanent "cleaned" version. You're making this choice at the moment you share.
If you share photos twice a year and have incredible attention to detail, fine. For the rest of us? Recipe for mistakes.
Method 2: Android's Built-in Options
Android's approach varies wildly depending on who made your phone. Samsung does it one way. Pixel does it another. OnePlus does something completely different. It's a mess, frankly.
Disable Geotagging in Camera
Open your Camera app, find Settings (usually a gear icon), look for "Save location" or "Geotagging", turn it off.
On a Pixel, it's Camera Settings then Save location. On Samsung, it might be called "Location tags" and buried somewhere else entirely. Some manufacturers don't even offer this option.
Same limitation as iPhone: only affects future photos. Your existing library stays geotagged.
Google Photos Has a Toggle Too
When sharing from Google Photos, there's a "Remove location data" toggle. Manual, per-share, easy to forget. You know the drill by now.
Android's Fragmentation Problem
Settings are in different places on different phones. Third-party camera apps might ignore your system preferences entirely. And you're still relying on remembering a toggle when you're probably distracted and in a hurry.
Method 3: Online Metadata Removal Tools
Search "remove EXIF data" and you'll find dozens of websites offering to strip metadata from your photos. Upload your image, they process it, you download the clean version.
I need to be blunt about this: you're uploading private photos to a stranger's server to protect your privacy.
Think about that for a second. You're worried enough about GPS coordinates that you're actively looking for removal tools. But you're willing to upload the entire image (with all that sensitive metadata) to some random website run by people you know nothing about?
What happens after you download the cleaned version? Is it actually deleted from their server? Is someone building a dataset for AI training? Are they doing something else entirely with your photos?
You don't know. You can't know. And you've got no way to verify whatever they claim about deletion.
When Online Tools Make Sense
Basically never. Unless you're processing photos that are already public or contain absolutely nothing sensitive. Stock images for a website, maybe. But if the photo has your face, your kids, your home, your location? Uploading it defeats the entire point.
You're trying to protect privacy by compromising privacy. The irony writes itself.
Method 4: Desktop Tools (ExifTool)
ExifTool is genuinely excellent if you're comfortable with command-line tools. It's the gold standard for metadata manipulation. Free, powerful, handles virtually every format.
Basic command to strip everything:
exiftool -all= yourphoto.jpg
But Be Honest With Yourself
This requires:
Comfort with terminal commands. Most people don't have this.
A desktop computer. You need to transfer photos from your phone first.
Technical knowledge. There's no preview of what you're removing.
Breaking your mobile workflow. Completely.
If you're a developer who lives in the terminal anyway, ExifTool is brilliant. For everyone else? Suggesting someone use command-line tools to share a photo safely is like telling someone to rebuild their engine when they just want to change the oil.
Method 5: ClearShare
Right. This is where I'm going to be upfront about the fact that we built ClearShare specifically because the options above frustrated us.
ClearShare is a mobile app (Android now, iOS coming soon) designed for removing privacy-sensitive metadata before you share photos. But it works differently from everything I've just described.
Your Photos Stay on Your Phone
Everything processes locally. No server upload. No cloud processing. No mysterious backend. Your photos never leave your device.
That's the opposite of those online tools. You get privacy protection without compromising privacy to get it.
You See What You're Removing
ClearShare doesn't just blindly strip everything. Open a photo and you see every metadata tag, organised by category. Device info. Camera settings. Location data. All of it.
Each tag has a privacy rating (Critical, High, Medium, Low) so you actually understand why something is risky. GPS coordinates are Critical. Colour space information is Low. You can choose exactly what to remove.
Maybe you want to keep camera settings for a photography discussion but remove location data. Your choice. Your control.
Batch Selection
Select multiple tags at once. Or tap "Select All Critical" to grab the high-risk items without ticking boxes one by one. Fast, clear, purposeful.
Works With Your Sharing Flow
ClearShare integrates with Android's share system. When you're in another app and tap Share, ClearShare appears as an option. Route photos through it, strip the metadata, continue sharing to wherever you were sending it.
You're not interrupting your workflow. You're adding a privacy layer to it.
Face and Text Blur (Premium)
The premium version adds on-device machine learning to detect and blur faces, number plates, name badges. Visual privacy, not just metadata.
And yes, this detection also happens entirely on your device. Nothing uploaded anywhere.
The Actual Workflow
Open ClearShare and pick a photo (or share into it from another app)
See the metadata, organised by category
Check the privacy ratings
Select what to remove
Tap Save or Share
Takes about 15 seconds once you know where everything is.
Comparing the Options
Let me lay this out plainly:
iPhone Built-in
Offline: Yes
Shows what's risky: No
Batch processing: No
Mobile-friendly: Yes
Reliable: Only if you never forget that toggle
Android Built-in
Offline: Yes
Shows what's risky: No
Batch processing: No
Mobile-friendly: Yes (but inconsistent)
Reliable: Only if you never forget that toggle
Online Tools
Offline: No. Obviously.
Shows what's risky: No
Batch processing: Sometimes
Mobile-friendly: Sort of
Reliable: Questionable. You're trusting strangers with your photos.
ExifTool
Offline: Yes
Shows what's risky: No
Batch processing: Yes
Mobile-friendly: Not remotely
Reliable: Yes, if you know what you're doing
ClearShare
Offline: Yes
Shows what's risky: Yes
Batch processing: Yes
Mobile-friendly: Yes
Reliable: Yes
Methods that rely on you remembering something at share-time will fail eventually. You'll forget. You'll be rushing. You'll share from an app that doesn't have the toggle. It's just a matter of when, not if.
So What Should You Actually Use?
Occasional sharer with excellent memory? The built-in phone options might work. Disable geotagging in your camera app, remember that share-time toggle for your existing photos. Be honest about whether you'll actually remember every time though.
Regular sharer who cares about privacy? ClearShare. It integrates into how you already share things, shows you what you're removing and why, and doesn't rely on you remembering a toggle.
Technical user with desktop workflow? ExifTool. Powerful, free, complete control. Just recognise it's not practical for most people's phone-first lives.
Considering online tools? Don't. Seriously. Uploading private photos to protect privacy makes no sense. If a photo is sensitive enough to need GPS removal, it's sensitive enough not to upload to strangers.
Get Started
Removing GPS data from photos isn't optional anymore. Basic privacy hygiene. Every photo you share with embedded coordinates is information someone could use to track your movements or find your home.
The question isn't whether to do this. It's how to do it reliably without adding friction to every share.
Built-in options work if you're disciplined. ExifTool works if you're technical. Online tools are a bad idea dressed up as convenience.
ClearShare? Built specifically for people who want this handled properly, on their phone, without compromising privacy in the process.
Your photos stay on your device. You see what you're removing. It works right in your sharing flow.
Download ClearShare on Google Play
All processing happens locally on your device. Nothing uploaded anywhere. Android now, iOS early 2026.
