Photo GPS and EXIF Data Explained
Every photo your phone takes carries a hidden block of metadata called EXIF, written by the camera at the moment of capture. When location services are on, that block includes the exact coordinates where you stood. This is what powers every "sort my photos by place" feature — and it is also the thing worth stripping before you post publicly.
What EXIF actually is
EXIF stands for Exchangeable Image File Format, a metadata standard maintained by the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) and JEITA. It is not a separate file — it is embedded inside the image itself, which is why it travels with the photo when you copy or email it, and why it needs deliberate removal rather than deletion of some sidecar.
A typical smartphone photo records, among other things:
- Capture timestamp (
DateTimeOriginal) - Camera make and model, and lens
- Exposure settings — shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length
- Orientation, so viewers know which way is up
- GPS coordinates, altitude and a GPS-derived timestamp
The GPS tags, specifically
Location is not stored as a single value. It sits in a dedicated GPS block, and the coordinate is split across two tags — the number and its hemisphere:
| Tag | Holds |
|---|---|
GPSLatitude | Degrees, minutes and seconds as three rational numbers |
GPSLatitudeRef | N or S |
GPSLongitude | Degrees, minutes and seconds as three rational numbers |
GPSLongitudeRef | E or W |
GPSAltitude / GPSAltitudeRef | Height, and whether it is above or below sea level |
GPSTimeStamp / GPSDateStamp | UTC time and date from the GPS fix |
Why the split matters. The latitude tag stores an unsigned
value, so 38° 43' 20" alone is ambiguous — it could be northern
or southern hemisphere. Converting to the decimal form most software uses
means combining both tags:
decimal = degrees + (minutes / 60) + (seconds / 3600), then
negated if the reference is S or W.
A tool that reads GPSLatitude but ignores
GPSLatitudeRef will happily place your southern-hemisphere trip
in the wrong half of the world. It is a classic geotagging bug.
How to view it on any platform
iPhone and iPad
Open the photo in Photos and swipe up, or tap the info button. Geotagged images show a map with the place name. Photos without coordinates show no map section at all.
Android
In Google Photos, open the image, tap the three-dot menu, then Details. Location appears with a small map when present.
Windows
Right-click the file → Properties → Details tab. Scroll to the GPS section for latitude, longitude and altitude.
macOS
Open in Preview, then Tools → Show Inspector. The GPS tab appears only if the image carries coordinates.
Command line
ExifTool reads everything and is the reference implementation most other tools are checked against:
exiftool -gps:all -DateTimeOriginal photo.jpg
Which file formats carry it
JPEG, TIFF and HEIC — the formats phones and cameras actually shoot — all support EXIF fully. PNG has an EXIF chunk in later revisions of the spec but it is rarely populated in practice, and screenshots saved as PNG carry no capture location because there was no capture. Converting or re-exporting an image can silently drop the metadata depending on the tool.
Why location data goes missing
This is the most common frustration when organising a trip, and the causes are predictable:
- Location services were off for the camera. The data was never written and cannot be recovered.
- The image arrived through a messaging app. Most strip metadata when sending.
- It was downloaded from social media. Major platforms remove EXIF on upload, so the copy you save back is scrubbed.
- It is a screenshot, or an image saved from a web page.
- No GPS fix was available — indoors, underground, or in dense city centres the phone may record the photo before it locks on.
The practical repair: geotag by proximity in time. If three photos from an afternoon are geotagged and seventeen are not, the seventeen almost certainly belong at the same place. Most photo managers let you select a batch and assign one location. More on organising by location.
The privacy side
A geotagged photo records where you were to within metres. Posted publicly, a set of them describes your home, your routine and your movements. Two habits cover most of the risk:
- Strip location before posting publicly. On iOS, use the share sheet, tap Options, and turn Location off. In Google Photos, disable location in the sharing settings. On Windows, Properties → Details → Remove Properties and Personal Information. ExifTool removes it in bulk with
exiftool -gps:all= *.jpg. - Keep it on the originals. Strip on the way out, not in your archive — once the coordinates are gone from the master file, no tool can put them back.
Wander Bot reads this data so you do not have to. It parses EXIF and GPS from every uploaded photo, reverse-geocodes the coordinates into real place names, groups the photos into places, and writes a travel story for each one. Start free — 500 photos, no card required.
Frequently asked questions
What is EXIF data in a photo?
A block of metadata written into the image file by the camera at capture, recording exposure settings, the timestamp, the camera model and — when location services are enabled — GPS coordinates.
Which EXIF tags store location?
GPSLatitude and GPSLongitude, each paired with a
reference tag (GPSLatitudeRef, GPSLongitudeRef)
holding the hemisphere. Altitude and GPS time are stored separately.
How do I see a photo's GPS location?
iPhone: swipe up on the photo. Android: three-dot menu → Details. Windows: Properties → Details. macOS: Preview → Tools → Show Inspector.
Do social platforms remove EXIF?
Most strip it on upload, including GPS. That protects the poster, but it also means a photo downloaded back from a social platform has lost its location and original capture time.
How do I remove GPS data before sharing?
iOS share sheet → Options → Location off. Google Photos sharing settings.
Windows: Properties → Details → Remove Properties and Personal Information.
ExifTool: exiftool -gps:all= *.jpg.