Drone Photo EXIF Data
A drone photo carries more metadata than any phone or DSLR shot. On top of the usual camera fields, DJI writes the aircraft's GPS position, two different altitudes, the gimbal's exact orientation, and how fast the drone was moving on all three axes at the instant of capture. Here is every field, what each one gives away, and how to remove them.
What a DJI Drone Writes Into Every Photo
| Field | What It Records | Example |
|---|---|---|
| GPSLatitude / GPSLongitude | Where the aircraft was, not where you stood | 32.7767 N, 96.7970 W |
| AbsoluteAltitude | Height above sea level, in meters | +156.20 |
| RelativeAltitude | Height above the point you took off from | +120.00 |
| GimbalPitchDegree | Camera tilt — −90° is straight down | -90.00 |
| GimbalYawDegree | Compass heading the camera was facing | +145.30 |
| GimbalRollDegree | Gimbal roll angle (usually level at 0°) | +0.00 |
| FlightYaw / Pitch / RollDegree | How the aircraft itself was oriented at capture | +145.30 / -1.20 / +0.50 |
| SpeedX / SpeedY / SpeedZ | Velocity on each axis the moment the shutter fired | 0.0 / 0.0 / 0.0 |
| Model | An internal camera code, not the marketing name | FC3582 |
| Software | Firmware version running on the aircraft | v02.00.0700 |
The GPS, model, and firmware fields sit in the standard EXIF block that any viewer can read. The altitude, gimbal, flight-attitude, and speed values are DJI-specific fields — a generic photo viewer usually ignores them, which is exactly why people are surprised to learn they were shipped along with the image.
What Drone Metadata Gives Away
Your launch point, not just your subject.This is the one that catches people out. A drone photo's GPS coordinates describe where the aircraft was hovering, so publishing an aerial shot of a landmark looks harmless. But RelativeAltitude is measured from wherever you took off. Subtract it from AbsoluteAltitude and you have the ground elevation at your launch spot — which, for anyone flying from their own back garden, narrows things down considerably.
Exactly where the camera was pointed.Gimbal yaw is a compass heading and gimbal pitch is the tilt. Together with the GPS fix and altitude, they let someone reconstruct the precise line of sight of the shot. A pitch of −90° means the camera was pointed straight down, so the coordinates in the file are, near enough, the coordinates of what is in the frame.
A per-photo flight log. The speed and aircraft-attitude fields turn a folder of images into a rough reconstruction of the flight: where you flew, how fast, in which direction, and at what height. Useful for reviewing your own flying. Less welcome attached to photos you post publicly.
Which drone you own. The EXIF Model field holds an internal camera code rather than a product name — FC3582 for the Mavic 3, FC3411 for the Mini 3 Pro, L2D-20c for the Mavic 3 Pro's Hasselblad camera. It is not obfuscation, just a part number, and it maps straight back to the aircraft.
Can You Stop a Drone From Geotagging Photos?
On most drones, no — and this is the important difference between a drone and a phone. A phone camera geotags because you let it. A drone needs a GPS lock to hold position, return to home, and respect geofencing, so location is not a feature you can switch off in a settings menu. Every photo comes off the SD card already carrying a position fix.
Which means drone privacy is entirely a matter of what you do after the flight. You cannot prevent the metadata from being written; you can only strip it before the file goes anywhere.
How to Read Your Drone's EXIF Data
Before you strip anything, look at what is actually in the file. Most desktop photo apps show you a tidy summary — camera, date, exposure — and quietly skip the drone-specific fields. To see the altitude and gimbal values you need a viewer that reads the raw tags.
See every field your drone recorded.
Drop a photo straight off the SD card and read the full metadata block, GPS and altitude included. Everything runs in your browser — the image is never uploaded.
Open the EXIF ViewerHow to Remove Drone EXIF Data
For JPEGs — strip it in the browser. Our metadata remover re-encodes the photo and hands back a clean copy with the GPS, altitude, gimbal, and flight fields all gone. It runs locally, so the original never leaves your machine — worth knowing when the file you are cleaning is the one with your home coordinates in it. Publish the clean copy and keep the original for yourself.
For DNG raw files — use ExifTool. Browsers cannot decode DNG, so the raw files from a Mavic or Air need a desktop tool. ExifTool removes every tag in one pass:
To drop only the location and keep the exposure data your editing workflow relies on, target the GPS group instead:
Note that this leaves the DJI altitude and gimbal fields in place, since they live outside the GPS group. If you want the coordinates gone but the flight data kept — or the other way round — check the result in the viewer rather than assuming. Whatever you strip, do it on a copy: metadata removal is not reversible.
One more habit worth building. Uploading to a social platform is not the same as stripping metadata. Some services discard EXIF on upload and some do not, the behaviour changes without notice, and it never covers the copy you emailed to a client or dropped in shared cloud storage. Clean the file yourself first.
Related Guides
DJI EXIF Data Guide
Every DJI metadata field, popular models, and the camera codes they write.
GPS Data in Photos
How location coordinates are stored, read, and removed from image files.
Remove Photo Metadata
Strip GPS and every other EXIF field from a photo in your browser.
Photo Privacy Guide
What your photos reveal about you and how to share them safely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What EXIF data do DJI drones store?
GPS coordinates, absolute altitude (above sea level) and relative altitude (above your takeoff point), gimbal roll, pitch and yaw angles, the aircraft's own orientation, flight speed on all three axes, the usual camera exposure settings, and the firmware version. That makes drone photos among the most metadata-rich images any consumer camera produces.
Do drone photos have GPS data?
Yes, essentially always. A drone needs a GPS lock to hold position and navigate, so the fix is available to the camera on every shot and gets written into the file. Unlike a phone, most drones give you no setting to turn geotagging off — the only reliable way to remove it is to strip the metadata after the flight.
Can I remove GPS data from DJI drone photos?
Yes. For JPEGs, a browser-based metadata remover re-encodes the image and returns a clean copy with no GPS, altitude, or gimbal data. For DNG raw files, run exiftool -all= on a copy of the file. Always work on a copy, because stripping metadata cannot be undone.
What does the DJI model code in EXIF mean?
DJI puts an internal camera code in the EXIF Model field rather than the drone's marketing name. FC3582 is the Mavic 3, FC3411 is the Mini 3 Pro, and L2D-20c is the Hasselblad camera on the Mavic 3 Pro. The code identifies the camera module, not the aircraft it is attached to.
What is the difference between absolute and relative altitude?
Absolute altitude is the drone's height above sea level. Relative altitude is its height above the point it took off from. Both are written to every photo, and the gap between them is the ground elevation of your launch spot — which is why the pair is more revealing together than either is alone.
Does gimbal angle metadata matter for privacy?
It can. Gimbal yaw is the compass heading the camera was facing and gimbal pitch is its tilt, so combining them with the GPS fix and altitude reconstructs the exact line of sight of the shot. At a pitch of −90 degrees the camera was pointed straight down, meaning the coordinates in the file are effectively the coordinates of the subject.