How to Remove EXIF Data From Android Photos
Android phones embed EXIF metadata in every photo: GPS coordinates, phone model, capture timestamp, exposure, and more. Before you share a photo on social media, in a marketplace listing, or by email, here are three reliable ways to delete that metadata.
Why Removing EXIF From Android Photos Matters
By default, the Android Camera app saves GPS coordinates with every photo when location permission is granted. Those coordinates are precise to a few meters — enough to point at a specific room in your home.
- Location leaks.Posting a photo from inside your house, your kid's school, or your workplace can publicly expose those addresses if EXIF is intact. Marketplace listings (Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp) are a common source of accidental address disclosure.
- Device fingerprinting. Phone make, model, lens identifiers, and software version in EXIF can link photos you posted from separate accounts back to the same device.
- Detailed timestamps. EXIF stores the exact capture time including time zone and (on many phones) altitude. Combined with GPS, this is a precise log of where you were.
- Most apps do not strip EXIF for you. Instagram and Facebook do strip on upload. Gmail attachments, Google Drive shares, Slack, Discord, Telegram in some modes, and direct file shares from your gallery typically do not.
Method 1: Use Google Photos to Remove Location (Built In)
Google Photos has a built-in "Remove location" option and a global preference to strip location from every shared link. This is the fastest way to handle GPS specifically.
To strip GPS from a single photo:
- Open the photo in Google Photos.
- Tap the three-dot menu (or swipe up to see details), then tap the location row.
- Tap Remove location. The GPS coordinates are cleared from the file.
To strip location from everything you share:
- Open Google Photos.
- Tap your profile icon (top right) > Photos settings.
- Tap Sharing, then enable Remove geo location in items shared by link.
Caveat: Google Photos removes GPS, but camera model, lens info, timestamps, and exposure data may still be in the file. For a full strip, use Method 2.
To stop GPS from being saved in the first place: open the Camera app, go to Settings, and turn off Save location or Geo-tag photos (label varies by manufacturer). On Pixel, it lives under Camera Settings > More settings > Save location. On Samsung, Camera Settings > Location tags.
Method 2: Use Photo Metadata Viewer (Free, In Your Browser)
When you want every EXIF field gone — not just GPS — our free browser tool strips the entire metadata block in one tap. Nothing is uploaded; everything happens on your Android device locally in Chrome.
- In Chrome on your Android phone, open photometadata.net.
- Tap Choose Photos and pick one or more images from your gallery.
- Review what EXIF data is currently in the file (GPS map, phone model, timestamps, settings).
- Tap Strip Metadata & Download. The clean copy is saved to your Downloads with no GPS, no camera info, no timestamp — just pixels.
Bonus: you can upload multiple photos and get a single ZIP with all of them stripped — useful before posting a vacation album or a batch of marketplace listing photos.
Method 3: Use a Third-Party Android App
If you strip EXIF frequently, a dedicated Android app makes it a one-tap workflow from your gallery's share sheet. A few well-regarded options:
- Scrambled Exif (open source, F-Droid). Adds itself to the system share sheet. Share any photo to it and it returns a stripped copy you can re-share. Open source and offline.
- ExifEraser (open source, F-Droid / Play Store). Modern UI, batch processing, drag-and-drop, supports JPEG, PNG, and WebP. Processes entirely on-device.
- Photo Exif Editor or Photo Metadata Remover (Play Store). Closed-source options with good ratings. Check the most recent reviews and the privacy policy — pick an app that explicitly says processing is local and that does not request network access.
The advantage of an installed app is speed for recurring use — just share to it. The advantage of Method 2 is that you do not have to install anything or grant any app access to your gallery; the browser tool runs locally and there is nothing to uninstall later.
Related Guides
Remove EXIF From iPhone Photos
The iOS equivalent of this guide — Photos share sheet and on-device tools.
Remove Photo Metadata (All Platforms)
Cross-platform overview covering Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
GPS Data in Photos
How GPS gets embedded in your photos and what it reveals.
Photo Privacy Guide
Which apps strip metadata, which do not, and how to share safely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Google Photos remove all EXIF data when I use Remove Location?
No. Google Photos' Remove Location feature only strips the GPS coordinates. Camera make and model, lens info, exposure settings, and the original capture timestamp may still be embedded. To clear every EXIF field, re-encode the photo using a tool like Photo Metadata Viewer or a dedicated EXIF remover app.
How do I stop my Android phone from saving GPS in photos?
Open the Camera app, then go to Settings. Turn off Save location, Location tags, or Geo-tag photos (the exact label depends on your manufacturer — Samsung, Pixel, OnePlus, Xiaomi, etc.). Photos taken after that change will not include GPS. Existing photos in your gallery are unchanged; strip those individually.
Will removing EXIF reduce the quality of my Android photo?
Slightly, if the tool re-encodes the image. Our browser tool re-saves at 95% JPEG quality, which is visually indistinguishable from the original for almost all use cases. Google Photos' Remove Location feature does not re-encode — it just clears the GPS bytes — so there is no quality change from that method.
Do Gmail attachments and Google Drive shares strip EXIF?
No. Gmail attachments and Google Drive file shares pass EXIF through untouched. If you attach an Android photo to a Gmail message or share it via a Drive link, the recipient gets the full GPS, camera, and timestamp data unless you stripped it first using one of the methods above. (The exception is Google Photos shared albums with the Remove geo location setting enabled — those do strip GPS.)
Are screenshots of my photos a good way to remove metadata?
It works but it is a poor choice. A screenshot is a brand new image whose EXIF reflects the moment you took the screenshot, not the original photo. You lose the original's metadata, but you also lose image quality, get cropped to your screen size, and end up with a JPEG of a JPEG. Use a proper EXIF remover instead — same privacy outcome, no quality loss.
Ready to strip EXIF from your Android photos?
Free, in your browser, nothing uploaded. Works for single photos or batches.
Open Photo Metadata Viewer