Guides

How to Remove Location Data from iPhone Photos Before Sharing Them

Mehmet Ali Kısacık · Developer of Secure Folder · July 15, 2026 · 4 min read

Updated October 2, 2026

To remove location data from iPhone photos before sharing, open the Share sheet, tap Options, and turn off Location. The copy you send will not include the photo's location coordinates, while the photo in your library keeps its existing location unless you remove it there too.

In this article

Remove location from the photo you are sending now

When Camera has Location Services access, an iPhone photo can store where it was taken alongside the image. Apple also notes that sharing a photo can include associated metadata such as its location.1,2

Turn off Location before you send

  1. 1.

    Open the photo in Photos

    Select the photo or video you want to send, then tap Share.1

  2. 2.

    Open Options

    Tap Options at the top of the Share sheet.1

  3. 3.

    Turn off Location

    Switch off Location. Photos shows that location is not included before you continue.1

  4. 4.

    Finish sharing

    Choose the person or app you want to share with and send the photo. The outgoing copy does not include its location coordinates.1,2

    1,2

Remove location from the saved photo itself

If you do not want to remember the Share Options switch every time, remove the location associated with the photo in your library. Apple provides a separate control for editing that stored location.1

Remove the stored location

  1. 1.

    Open the photo's information

    Open the photo in Photos and bring up its information controls.1

  2. 2.

    Choose Adjust Location

    Open the location adjustment control for that photo.1

  3. 3.

    Tap No Location

    Choose No Location to remove the location metadata associated with that photo.1

    1

This method changes the location attached to the photo you keep in Photos, rather than changing only one outgoing share.1

Stop Camera from adding location to new photos

You can also stop Camera from collecting location information for photos and videos you take in the future.1

Turn off Camera location access

  1. 1.

    Open Settings

    Open Settings on your iPhone.1

  2. 2.

    Open Location Services

    Go to Privacy & Security, then Location Services.1

  3. 3.

    Choose Camera

    Find Camera in the list of apps that can request location access.1

  4. 4.

    Set access to Never

    Choose Never. Camera can collect location metadata for photos and videos only when it has access to Location Services.1

    1

Turning off Precise Location is different. Apple says an app that still has location access can receive your approximate location when Precise Location is off. If you want Camera to stop adding location metadata, set Camera's location access to Never.1,3

Photos uses embedded coordinates for features such as location-based searching and the Map collection. New Camera photos without that location information will not have captured coordinates available for those location views.1

What removing location data does not remove

Location metadata is only one way a picture can reveal where it was taken. Removing coordinates changes the metadata attached to the file, not what is visibly shown in the image.

Other ways a photo can reveal its location

  • Visible details such as street signs, house numbers, storefronts, landmarks, or other readable text can still identify a place.
  • For photos that include motion or audio, review Live Photos privacy separately.

Hiding a photo is also a different task from removing its location metadata. If your remaining concern is keeping photos out of ordinary browsing, see how to hide photos on iPhone.

Secure Folder: Privacy Vault keeps imported photos, videos, and files in a separate gallery locked behind its own 6-digit PIN or Face ID or Touch ID. Importing creates a vault copy; deleting the original removes it from Photos. That storage step is separate from removing location metadata before a photo is shared.

Sources

  1. 1.Apple, “Manage location metadata in Photos,” support.apple.com
  2. 2.Apple, “Share photos and videos on iPhone,” support.apple.com
  3. 3.Apple, “Control the location information you share on iPhone,” support.apple.com

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