A photo sent to a match can say more than the person sending it intends. Behind the picture may sit hidden data recording where it was taken, and in front of the camera there may be a landmark, a street or a workplace that gives the location away without any data at all. This guide draws on published advice from Apple, Google and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a UK personal safety charity, to explain what photos can reveal and how to limit it.
What location metadata is
Apple’s Personal Safety User Guide explains that when Location Services is turned on for the Camera app, the phone uses cellular, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth information to work out where a photo or video was taken. Those coordinates, known as metadata, are embedded in each photo and video so the images can later be searched by place. The guide states that when photos and videos containing location metadata are shared, the people receiving them may be able to access that metadata and learn where the picture was taken.
Google’s help pages describe two ways a photo can carry a location. The camera app may capture and save location data when the picture is taken, or Google Photos may estimate a location using machine learning, based on landmarks and similarity to other photos.
What the Suzy Lamplugh Trust advises
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust’s online safety advice tells people to turn off geolocation tags on a phone before sending images to someone else. It explains that some phones and digital cameras automatically attach data to the photo file identifying where the picture was taken, and that turning this off helps prevent a person met online from being able to trace your movements. Its wider online dating advice adds several habits that fit with this:
- do not disclose personal information such as an address, phone number or workplace to people you do not know;
- keep communications on the dating website’s channels rather than moving to personal social media;
- choose a username that does not reveal too much about you;
- when chatting, talk about where you have been rather than where you are going.
Checking your own photos on an iPhone or Mac
Apple’s guide describes how to see which of your photos carry location data. On an iPhone or iPad, open the Photos app, choose Collections and open the Map collection under Pinned; only pictures and videos with embedded GPS data appear there. On a Mac, the Places album lets you review photos with embedded location metadata. To remove the data from a photo on an iPhone or iPad, open the photo in Albums, use the info option, choose Adjust Info, then Adjust Location, then No Location. On a Mac, select the photos and choose Image, then Location, then Hide Location or Revert to Original Location.
Stopping collection and sharing without location on an iPhone
Apple says location metadata can be collected only if the Camera app has access to Location Services. To stop it, go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Location Services, then Camera, and tap Never. When sharing from the Photos app, you can select the photos, tap Share, then Options and turn off Location. The screen then shows “Location Not Included” above the Options button, and the photos can be shared without the location where they were taken.
What Google Photos does and does not control
According to Google, locations are private by default in Google Photos. It shares locations only if you choose to include them when you create a new conversation or shared album, or when you set up partner sharing, and other newly shared albums, links and conversations do not include location details by default. If partner sharing is set up, the photos shared include location details. Google also states that if a location was automatically added by your camera, you cannot edit or remove it inside Google Photos; only estimated or manually added locations can be changed there. For a device that should not record location in the first place, Google says to turn off location data collection through the camera app.
What a photo shows without any data
Turning off metadata does not remove what is visible. Google’s page warns that even if you do not include a location when you share, people may be able to guess it from landmarks in a photo or video. In practice, backgrounds such as a distinctive building, a street sign, a school uniform or a workplace badge can point to a place, so it is worth looking at each photo through a stranger’s eyes before it goes into a profile or a message.
Practical checklist before sending a photo
- Check whether the camera app is allowed to record location, and turn it off if it is not needed.
- Remove location data from a photo, or share it with location switched off.
- Look at the background for landmarks, signs or anything that identifies your home, routine or workplace.
- Keep the conversation on the dating platform until trust is established.
- Talk about places you have been rather than places you are going.
Frequently asked questions
Do all phones embed location in photos?
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust says some phones and digital cameras automatically attach location data, and both Apple and Google describe location settings that control whether it is recorded.
If I share by link from Google Photos, is my location included?
Google says newly shared items do not include location details by default, but you can choose to include them, and partner sharing does include them.
The bottom line
Photos can reveal where they were taken through embedded metadata and through what is visible in the frame. Turning off location for the camera, removing location from photos, sharing with location switched off and checking backgrounds are the practical steps described by Apple, Google and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. Combined with sharing less personal detail early on, they reduce the chance that a match can work out where you live, work or spend your time.