Remove location from a photo
See what a photo reveals about you — where it was taken, which phone took it and when — and download a clean copy without it.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter or choose is uploaded or sent to any server.
Most photos carry hidden data: the exact place they were taken, which phone took them, and when. When you send a photo as a file, attach it to an email or upload it to some websites, that data can travel with it.
How to use it
- Choose a photo above, or drop it on the box. JPEG and HEIC both work.
- Look at what it reveals. Location is the one to worry about.
- Download the clean copy and share that one instead of the original.
For JPEG photos the tool doesn’t re-compress anything: it removes the metadata blocks and copies the image data byte for byte, so there is no loss of quality. It then reads the clean copy again and only offers it for download once no location, device or date is left.
Other ways to leave location out on iPhone
You don’t always need a tool. iOS can do two things itself:
- When you share from Photos, tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn off Location. That share goes without the location; the original keeps it.
- For new photos, go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Camera and choose Never. Photos you take from then on have no location at all.
Messaging apps differ: some remove location when they compress a photo, but sending it “as a file” or in full quality often keeps it. If you’re not sure, clean the photo first.
Keep the originals private
The originals on your phone still contain their location. If they show places or people that are nobody else’s business, move them into an encrypted vault. In OwlVault, photos are encrypted on your iPhone and there is no server they could leak from.
Questions
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. The photo is read and cleaned by your browser, on your device, and the clean copy is created there too. Once this page has loaded, the tool works even without an internet connection.
What exactly is removed?
For JPEG photos, the EXIF data (location, phone or camera model, dates and camera settings), XMP and IPTC data, comments, embedded thumbnails and extra images such as depth maps. The picture itself is copied unchanged, and the colour profile and orientation stay, so the photo looks exactly the same.
What happens to HEIC photos from an iPhone?
They are converted to JPEG in your browser, which leaves all hidden data behind. This works in browsers that can open HEIC photos, such as Safari on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Very large photos may be scaled down so the browser can process them; the page tells you when that happens.
Does this remove what is visible in the photo?
No. It removes hidden data only. Faces, street signs, house numbers or a view from your window are still in the picture.