How to remove EXIF and location data from photos on Android
Android phones usually write GPS coordinates, the device model and a timestamp into every photo. The steps differ between manufacturers, so this guide covers the common ones and a method that works on any phone.
Stop adding location to new photos
Open your camera app, go to its settings and switch off Location tags (the label can vary by manufacturer). New photos will stop carrying coordinates. Existing photos are unchanged.
Remove location from one photo
- Google Photos: open the photo, swipe up for details, tap the pencil beside the location and choose Remove location.
- Samsung Gallery: open the photo, tap the More or Details option, edit the location and remove it.
These steps remove location only. The camera model and capture time stay in the file.
Remove location when you share
Many Android versions offer a switch to remove location data on the share screen, for example in Samsung's share sheet. Options differ by phone and app, so check the share screen before you send. If you do not see one, clean the file first.
Remove all metadata with Untrace
- Open Untrace in Chrome and choose the photo.
- Check what it found, then choose Clean image.
- Download the cleaned copy and share that one.
The photo never leaves your phone, because Untrace has no server to receive it. For a whole album, add up to 50 photos at once and take them as one ZIP.
Check it worked. Add the cleaned copy to Untrace again. It should report that no metadata was found.
See what your own photo is hiding. Untrace lists every metadata block, then removes it, all inside your browser.
Scan a photoCommon questions
Will cleaning change how the photo looks?
No. The pixels stay the same. The file is re-encoded, so its size can change a little.
Do messaging apps remove EXIF data?
Some do when you send a photo as an image, but sending it as a document or file usually keeps everything. Clean the file yourself if it matters.