How to remove metadata from your photos

When you take a photo with a digital camera, the photo file stores a certain amount of information specific to your shot in what is called metadata: the date it was taken, the size of the image, the model of the camera, etc.

When you take photos with your smartphone, this metadata includes even more information, such as the exact location of each photo…

If you keep your photos tucked away on your computer, that's fine... but when you start sharing your memories online, especially on social media, sharing that information can start to get sensitive. You may not want to reveal where you live to everyone who saw your latest photo of your dog.

For example, the following photo returns a whole series of information that can tell you a lot about the details of the shot:

• Date of shooting: 15/01/2017 at 11:35 a.m.
• Dimensions: 4032 x 3024
• Camera model: iPhone 6s
• Focal length: F/2.2
• Exposure time: 1/33 second
• ISO sensitivity: ISO-64
• Latitude: 48; 52; 35.64
• Name: IMG_4231.JPG
• Size: 2.49 MB
• ...

There are many programs that allow you to view a photo's metadata, but Windows also makes it very easy to do. Do right click on your photo then go to Properties and choose the tab Details.

You can then very easily delete the metadata. To do this, you must click on the link at the very bottom Delete properties and personal information.

A new window will then open:

You then have two options available:

• Create a copy by removing all possible properties : this option will remove all sensitive information like date, location, camera… and create a copy of the file
• Remove the following properties from this file : this option lets you choose which data you want to delete

Finally, if you go back into the photo properties on the tab Details, you also have the option to edit most of the information specific to your photo one by one. To do this, simply click on a field and edit the information entered. This can be useful if you want to add information about the Copyright or the author of the photo, for example.

The only drawback of this very simple method is that it does not allow you to manage several photos at once. To do this type of manipulation, you can turn to photo software such as XnView which is free and does the job very well.

In short, it is important to know that when you share your photos on the Internet, you are not just sharing an image. There is a lot of information that may need to be controlled and not shared. Learn about the metadata of your photos to know to what extent you are sending details about your private life on the web.