How to Remove Location from Photos on iPhone Before You Share

On iPhone you can remove location from a photo in the Photos app: open the photo, swipe up (or tap the Info button), tap Adjust next to the location and choose No Location. To keep the location in your library but leave it out of what you send, tap Share → Options and turn off Location before sharing. To stop new photos from being tagged at all, set Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Camera to Never.

Why photos have a location

When Location Services is on for the Camera, iPhone saves the GPS coordinates of each shot in the photo's metadata. That's what powers the map in Photos and apps that sort your library by place. It also means that a photo of your home, sent as a file, can reveal where you live. Our guide to organising photos by country and city explains how this data is stored.

Remove the location from one photo

1. Open the photo in Photos.
2. Swipe up, or tap the Info button.
3. Next to the map or place name, tap Adjust.
4. Choose No Location (some iOS versions say Remove Location).

Apple describes the same steps in its Personal Safety guide, which also covers removing location from several photos and from the Places album. You can add a location back the same way.

Share without location (and keep it in your library)

Often you want the map in your own library but not in the copy you send.

1. Select one or more photos and tap Share.
2. Tap Options at the top of the share sheet.
3. Turn off Location and tap Done.
4. Share as usual.

The setting applies to that share only, so check it each time you send photos to someone you don't know well.

Stop the Camera from saving location

1. Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services.
2. Tap Camera and choose Never.

New photos won't have coordinates. Existing photos keep theirs until you remove them.

What about social networks?

Many large social platforms strip location metadata from images on upload, but they don't all do it, and photos sent as files (email attachments, cloud links, file transfers) usually keep everything. Don't rely on the other side: remove the location yourself when it matters. The text you add, a visible street sign or a geotag sticker can also give away a place.

What removing location changes

• The photo disappears from the map and from the Places view in Photos.
• Apps that sort photos by place can no longer place it. Photo Wash, for example, builds albums by country and city from that metadata; a photo with no location simply stays out of the Geo Albums. Photo Wash reads location on your device and never uploads it, but it doesn't edit or remove metadata itself.
• Memories and search by place won't find it.

A good balance for most people: keep location on for your own library, and turn it off in the share sheet when sending photos outside friends and family.

FAQ

Does a screenshot keep the location?

No. Screenshots don't contain GPS data, but they do show whatever is on the screen, which may include a map or an address.

Do photos sent through iMessage include location?

They can, if the location is in the photo and you didn't turn it off in Options. Check the share sheet before sending.

Can I remove location from many photos at once?

Yes. Select several photos in the library, open the menu for the selection and adjust the location for all of them, or follow Apple's Personal Safety guide for the Places album.