If you are someone who loves taking pictures with your phone camera, then you need to know what EXIF data is all about.
When you understand what it means that photos are data, then you will have to protect them.
Your photo in the hands of an enemy can be used for a different purpose. It can be used for online impersonation, target identification, character deformation, etc.
Aside from that, picture shots taken with our phones also collect and expose some pieces of metadata that can go against our privacy.
What is EXIF data?
EXIF stands for Exchangeable Image File Format. It is information embedded in a photo from a digital or phone camera.
When you take a picture with your phone camera or a digital camera, the device embeds some metadata in the image, like the camera settings, date and time the picture was taken, copyright information, geolocation, and other descriptions.
This makes it possible that whoever you sent the photo to can also access this information on their device. Except when the mode of transfer rips off the metadata.
Remember, when the device you used to take the photos has GPS enabled, your location can also be stored in the EXIF data.
Giving out your location with photos you take when you upload them online exposes your privacy.
If platforms like Facebook and Twitter did not remove EXIF data from images when they were uploaded, many would have been giving out their location details through their photos without noticing it.
How to Prevent Your Phone Camera From Saving Your Location On EXIF Data
On your Android device, the first place you can turn off camera location saving is in the phone camera settings. Look for the location option or the GPS icon. Then toggle it off.
Another way is by going to your Android phone settings, under the permissions or apps option. Then, turn off your camera location access permission.
For iPhone users, check your phone’s privacy settings and deny your camera access to your location.
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How to View or Remove EXIF Metadata from a Photo.
On an Android phone, you can view, edit, or remove EXIF data from a photo using the Photo Exif Editor app. You can download the app from the Play Store.
For iPhone users, you can view, edit, or remove EXIF metadata from your photos using the app Metapho or EXIF viewer lite.
On your Windows computer, it is very easy to view and remove exit data. Simply right-click on the image and, at the bottom of the list, select Properties. On the window that will appear, select the details tab to see the Exif metadata.
At the bottom of the displayed metadata, you can also see the option to remove properties and personal information from the photo.
You can also read up on how to view Exif data on a Mac.
Knowing how your private information, like your location, leaves your device is very important. It is good to know the amount of information your device embeds in the photos you take with it.
This is highly insightful. Thanks for sharing.
Very timely.