Quick answer: To send a photo without its location, tap Share in Photos, tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn off Location. To remove location from a photo already in your library, open it, swipe up (or tap the ⓘ button), tap Adjust next to the location and choose No Location. To stop recording location for new photos, go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Camera and choose Never.

Every photo your iPhone takes carries hidden information alongside the image. Most of it is harmless. The GPS coordinates usually aren’t: a photo taken at home and posted or sent as an original file can reveal where you live to anyone who knows where to look.

This guide shows how to check what’s in your photos and remove it, using only features built into iOS.

What is EXIF data?

EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a standard for storing metadata inside image files. On an iPhone photo it typically includes:

  • Date and time the photo was taken
  • Device and lens: for example the iPhone model and which camera was used
  • Camera settings: aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focal length
  • GPS coordinates and sometimes altitude and direction, if the Camera has location access

Both HEIC and JPEG files can hold this data. When you send the original file, the metadata travels with it unless something removes it.

How to see the metadata on an iPhone photo

Open the photo in Photos and swipe up, or tap the ⓘ (Info) button. You’ll see the date and time, the device and camera settings, and a map if the photo has a location. If there’s no map, the photo has no GPS data.

How to share a photo without its location

This is the most useful fix because it covers the moment the data actually leaves your phone.

  1. In Photos, select one or more photos and tap Share.
  2. At the top of the share sheet, under the “photo selected” line, tap Options.
  3. Turn off Location.
  4. Optionally, turn off All Photos Data too, so editing history and other extra data isn’t included.
  5. Tap Done and share as usual through Messages, Mail, AirDrop or another app.

The copy you send won’t include GPS coordinates. Your original in the library keeps its location. Check the Options screen each time you share sensitive photos rather than assuming it’s still set the way you left it.

Other EXIF fields, such as the capture date or camera model, can still be included even with Location off. If you want to remove everything, use the Shortcuts method below.

How to remove location from photos in your library

If you want the location gone from the photo itself, not just from the shared copy:

  1. Open the photo and swipe up or tap ⓘ.
  2. Tap Adjust next to the location or map.
  3. Choose No Location.

On recent iOS versions you can also do this for several photos at once: select them in your library, tap the More button (•••), choose Adjust Location and pick No Location.

The same Info panel also lets you adjust the date and time, if you prefer that a photo not show exactly when it was taken.

How to stop your iPhone recording location in photos

To keep GPS out of future photos altogether:

  1. Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services.
  2. Tap Camera.
  3. Choose Never.

From then on, the Camera app won’t save location in new photos. Photos you’ve already taken keep theirs, so combine this with the steps above.

The tradeoff: you lose features that depend on location, like browsing photos on a map or memories grouped by place. Some people prefer to leave location on and remove it only when sharing.

How to strip all EXIF metadata with Shortcuts

iOS doesn’t have a single “remove all metadata” button, but the built-in Shortcuts app can make a clean copy:

  1. Open Shortcuts and create a new shortcut.
  2. Add the Select Photos action (turn on Select Multiple if you like).
  3. Add Convert Image, choose JPEG as the format, and turn off Preserve Metadata.
  4. Add Save to Photo Album.
  5. Run the shortcut and pick your photos.

You’ll get new copies without the original EXIF fields, including location. Share those copies, and check them with the ⓘ panel before sending: when you save a new copy to your library, Photos records its own date for it, which is normally the date you made the copy.

What about messaging and social apps?

Many apps recompress images when you send or upload them, and some remove metadata in the process. But behaviour differs between apps, it can change with updates, and options like “send as file” or “send as document” are often designed to deliver the original file untouched, metadata included. Don’t rely on the receiving app to clean your photos for you. Remove the location yourself before sharing.

Taking photos that never had metadata to begin with

The methods above all clean up after the fact. If certain photos are private from the start, such as documents, health information or anything personal, it can be simpler to capture them in an app that removes metadata at capture time.

SilentLens works this way: photos captured with its built-in camera have sensitive metadata such as GPS and EXIF information removed before storage, and they go straight into an encrypted vault on your iPhone instead of your photo library. If you later share them with SilentLens’s encrypted sharing, you can add policies such as one-time viewing and expiration.

Checklist: before you share a sensitive photo

  • Open the ⓘ panel and check whether there’s a map.
  • In the share sheet, tap Options and turn off Location (and All Photos Data if you want).
  • For full removal, run your “strip metadata” shortcut and share the copy.
  • Look at the image itself, too: house numbers, street signs, documents on a desk and reflections can reveal more than metadata.

Frequently asked questions

Does iPhone remove location data when sending photos?

Not automatically in every case. In Photos, the share sheet’s Options screen has a Location toggle you can turn off before sending. Some apps also strip metadata when they recompress images, but that varies by app.

Does turning off Location in the share sheet remove all EXIF data?

No. It removes the GPS location from the shared copy. Other fields, such as date and camera model, may still be included. Use Shortcuts’ Convert Image action with Preserve Metadata turned off to remove the rest.

How can I tell if a photo has location data?

Open it in Photos and swipe up or tap ⓘ. If you see a map with a pin, the photo has location data.

Will turning off Camera location remove it from old photos?

No. It only affects new photos. Use Adjust → No Location to remove location from existing ones.