When you use thebest camera phonesto take a photo, it also captures pertinent information related to that photo. The captured data includes the lens information, the camera mode, shutter speed, ISO, focal length, geolocation, and other information. Your smartphone saves this information in standard EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) files.
Your phone does this to help you edit and organize your photos. You can use the EXIF data to filter similar photos, apply batch editing, and more. One example of good use of EXIF data is the Google Photos or Apple Photos app when those apps create memories based on the time and place of captured photos.
However, the EXIF or metadata of photos can become a concern when you share your photos online. Someone can easily view the location data of your photos to find out your location. That’s why removing the metadata before sharing the photo is a good idea. Here’s how to remove or change photo metadata on your phone.
Why you should remove or change photo metadata
Your smartphone captures several personally identifiable information with your photos, with GPS coordinates being one of them. If you share your photos on the internet but don’t remove your photos' metadata, someone can track your location.
While most popular social media websites remove the EXIF data, we recommend you remove the EXIF data from your images because it’s better to be safe than sorry. Also, the image metadata isn’t deleted when you share photos via chats, emails, or cloud storage providers. So, it’s best to remove the EXIF data before sharing your photos.
Another reason for changing photo metadata is for better organization. Sometimes, when you import photos on your smartphone, the EXIF data can become corrupt. Editing the EXIF files to enter the correct metadata can help catalog your photos.
Remove or change photo metadata on your phone
While it’s easier to bulk edit photo metadata on a desktop system like macOS or Windows, you can remove or change photo metadata on your phone. The steps for editing and removing photo metadata are different for Android and iOS smartphones. We created separate sections for both of these operating systems.
How to view, remove, and change photo metadata on Android
You can view the photo metadata on your phone using the phone’s default gallery app. However, we use a third-party app to edit the metadata, as most default gallery apps don’t support this feature.
How to view photo metadata on Android
To keep things consistent across devices, we’ll use the Google Photos app that comes preinstalled on most Android phones and offersawesome editing features. If your phone comes with a different default gallery app, you’ll find that the steps are similar. Doing a simple Google Search with your device model can show you the exact steps.
If you can’t find it, install the Google Photos app from the Play Store and use the steps below to view the EXIF data of your photos.
How to remove or change photo metadata on Android
We’ll use a third-party app to remove or change the EXIF data of a photo on Android devices. Several apps on the Play Store let you edit and delete photo metadata. We recommend the Photo Exif Editor. Click the link to install the app on your phone before proceeding with the steps.
To stop your phone from recording your location data with photos, remove the location services permission of the camera app on your phone.
How to view, delete, and change photo metadata on iPhone
Like on Android, you can use the default Photos app on your iPhone to view the EXIF details. We also love that the iPhone allows you to remove the EXIF details when sharing photos. However, if you want to delete the EXIF data of photos on your iPhone, you must use a third-party app.
How to view EXIF data of photos on iPhone
Due to the ubiquity of the Photos app across platforms, you may use the same steps to view the EXIF data of photos on your iPad and Mac.
How to remove photo metadata while sharing photos on iPhone
One of the best things about iOS is that it allows you to remove metadata while sharing photos. Here’s how you do it.
The setting is persistent, so the next time you share a photo, your iPhone automatically removes the metadata before sharing the photo.
How to edit or delete photo metadata on iPhone
If you want to edit incorrect photo metadata or delete it altogether, you’ll use a third-party app. We recommend theExif Metadata app, which is free to install on your iPhone, with in-app purchases to remove ads. you’re able to use the link to install the app from the App Store.
View, edit, and delete photo metadata on iPhone and Android
We hope this guide helped you view, edit, and delete your photo metadata. We love that all modern smartphones allow you to view the EXIF details of your photos in the default gallery app. We would love it if Android and iOS systems allowed us to delete or remove EXIF details. That way, we wouldn’t have to rely on third-party apps.
Before you go, if you are a budding photographer, don’t forget to read our guide on thebest Android apps for photographers. It will help you take your photography game to the next level.
