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How to remove location data from photos on a Mac
By Himanshu Ranjan · Updated 8 November 2026
Photos taken on phones and many cameras can store GPS coordinates in their EXIF metadata, revealing where each picture was taken. On a Mac you can check this in Preview's inspector or the Photos info window, remove it from a single photo in Preview, or leave location out when exporting from Photos. To strip location from many photos at once, use a batch tool such as FileDial's Privacy › Remove location.
What EXIF and GPS metadata are
Most digital photos carry a block of hidden information alongside the picture itself. The common standard for this is called EXIF. It can record the camera or phone model, lens, exposure settings, the date and time the photo was taken, and, if location services were on, the GPS coordinates of where you were standing.
This information is stored inside the image file. It does not show in the picture, but it travels with the file when you email it, message it, upload it or copy it to a USB drive, unless something along the way removes it.
What a photo's location can reveal
Coordinates are often precise enough to point to a specific building. A single photo might be harmless, but location data can reveal more than you intend:
- Your home address, from photos taken in your garden, kitchen or street.
- Where your children go to school or play.
- Your workplace and daily routine, from photos taken at regular times and places.
- When you are away, from holiday photos shared while you travel.
- The location of items you are selling, if you photograph them at home for a listing.
Do apps and websites remove location for you?
Some services strip location and other metadata when you upload a photo, some keep it, and some keep it on their servers while hiding it from other users. Behaviour also differs between sending a photo as a picture and sending it as a file or document, and it can change when apps are updated.
Because this varies and changes, the safe approach is not to rely on it. If location matters, remove it yourself before the photo leaves your Mac, and when in doubt, check a sample file you received back from the service.
How to check a photo's location on a Mac
There are two built-in ways to see whether a photo contains location data:
- In Preview: open the photo, choose Tools › Show Inspector, and click the info (i) tab. If the photo has location data, a GPS section shows the coordinates and a map.
- In Photos: select a photo in your library and open the info window (Window › Info, or press Command-I). If the photo has a location, a map appears.
- Finder's Get Info window shows some image details under More Info, but Preview's inspector is the more reliable way to check for GPS.
Free ways to remove location on a Mac
For a single file, Preview can remove location directly. Open the photo, choose Tools › Show Inspector, go to the GPS section of the info tab, and click Remove Location Info. This changes the file itself, so make a copy first if you want to keep the original.
In Photos, you can hide a photo's location within your library from the Image menu, and when you use File › Export, the export options include a setting for location information. Leave it switched off and the exported copies are saved without location. Check one exported file in Preview's inspector to confirm.
These methods are free and work well for a few photos. They become slow when you have a folder of hundreds, files that are not in your Photos library, or you also want to remove other metadata such as camera details.
Batch removal with FileDial
FileDial's Privacy tools remove metadata from many photos at once, on your Mac, without uploading anything. Select the photos in Finder, hold the right Option key, and choose a tool from the dial. Each tool saves new copies beside the originals and leaves the pixels untouched.
Privacy › Remove location makes a copy without GPS data. Privacy › Remove all metadata makes a copy with no metadata at all. Privacy › Remove camera info removes camera details only. If you want to change fields rather than delete them, Privacy › Edit metadata… lets you edit them.
To make it automatic, you can chain tools in a recipe, such as Convert to JPG followed by Remove location, or set up a watched folder so every photo dropped into it is cleaned. See remove location and metadata from photos on Mac for details, and convert HEIC to JPG if you are also changing format for sharing.
Habits that keep location out of your photos
A few habits make this easier than cleaning up afterwards:
- Decide whether your phone's camera should record location at all. You can turn it off in the phone's privacy settings for the camera app.
- Strip location before posting photos of your home, children or anything you are selling.
- Check one sample file after any new workflow, rather than assuming it worked.
- Remember screenshots and edited copies can keep metadata from the original, depending on how they were made.
Questions
Do photos contain location data?
Photos from phones and many cameras can include GPS coordinates in their EXIF metadata if location was enabled when they were taken. You can check in Preview's inspector or the Photos info window on a Mac.
How do I see where a photo was taken on a Mac?
Open it in Preview, choose Tools › Show Inspector and look at the info tab. If location data is present, a GPS section shows the coordinates and a map.
Does removing location change the photo's quality?
No. Location is stored as metadata alongside the image. Removing it with Preview or FileDial's Privacy › Remove location leaves the pixels untouched.
Do social media sites remove location from photos?
Some do and some do not, and behaviour can change. Removing location yourself before uploading is the reliable option.
How do I remove location from many photos at once?
Export them from Photos with location information switched off, or select them in Finder and run FileDial's Privacy › Remove location, which saves clean copies of every photo in one go.