How to Batch Remove GPS Location from Photos Before Sharing
Removing the location from one photo is easy. Removing it from forty photos of a flat you are renting out, a holiday album you are sending to a group chat, or a batch of product shots for a marketplace listing is where people give up and share the originals.
That is a problem, because every one of those originals can carry the GPS coordinates of where it was taken. This guide shows a batch workflow that cleans a whole set in one pass with ExifTool, on Android or iPhone.
For background on what location metadata is and why it matters, read what EXIF data is and how to remove it.
Why batch removal matters
GPS data in a photo is precise. A picture of your living room can point to your building, sometimes to the side of the street. One photo shared by accident is enough.
Batch removal is about consistency. When you clean photos one by one, it is easy to miss the single file that still has a location. Cleaning the whole set together removes that risk.
Common situations where it pays off:
- Marketplace listings shot at home
- Rental or property photos sent to strangers
- Shared albums and cloud links that keep original files
- Photos of children shared outside close family
- Work site photos where the location is confidential
Decide what to remove
Before you start, choose one of two approaches:
| Approach | What it removes | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Remove GPS only | Latitude, longitude and related location tags | Keeping dates and camera settings for your records |
| Remove all metadata | EXIF, XMP, GPS and other tags | Maximum privacy when sending to strangers |
If you are not sure, remove GPS only. Dates help the recipient sort photos, and camera settings reveal nothing about where you live.
Step-by-step: batch remove GPS with ExifTool
- Install ExifTool. It is free on Google Play and the App Store.
- Copy the set first. Put the photos you plan to share into a separate album or folder. You keep the originals untouched in your library.
- Open ExifTool and select several files. Choose all the photos (or videos) in that set.
- Check a sample. Open one or two files and look at the GPS section to confirm they actually contain coordinates.
- Choose the batch action. Either delete the GPS tags across the selection, or use the one-tap option to remove all metadata.
- Run it and let it finish. Larger sets and RAW files take longer.
- Verify. Open a few of the cleaned files, including the first and last, and confirm the GPS fields are empty.
- Share the cleaned copies. Send these, not the originals.
Optional: keep a record first
If you need proof of where photos were taken, for example field reports, export the metadata to CSV before cleaning. ExifTool can export metadata to CSV, so you keep the location data privately while the shared files carry none.
Supported file types
ExifTool reads and writes metadata for a wide range of formats, so one workflow covers a mixed set:
- Images: JPG, JPEG, HEIC, HEIF, WEBP, RAW, PSD
- Videos: MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV
- Audio: MP3, FLAC, OGG
Wrong location instead of no location?
Sometimes you do not want to delete the location, only fix it. A photo taken indoors may carry a bad GPS fix, or you may want every shot in a report tagged with the site address. The GeoTag editor in ExifTool lets you add or change the GPS location, including across several photos. Our roundup of GPS geotag editor apps explains the options in more depth.
Stop the problem at the source
Batch cleaning fixes photos you already have. To reduce future work:
On Android: open your camera app’s settings and turn off the option usually called Location tags or Save location. Names vary between brands.
On iPhone: go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Camera and choose Never. When sharing from Photos, you can also tap Options in the share sheet and turn off location for that share.
Many people keep location on because it organises the gallery by place, and clean only the sets they share. That is a reasonable middle ground. On iPhone specifically, our guide to ExifTool for iPhone covers the built-in iOS options in more detail.
Converting formats? Check metadata after
If you convert photos before sharing, for example HEIC to JPG, the metadata may come along. Total Media Converter keeps metadata and the color profile when converting images, which is good for quality but means the location travels too. Convert first, then run the batch GPS removal on the converted files. See how to convert HEIC to JPG on Android for that step.
Checklist before you hit share
- Copied the set to a separate album or folder
- Removed GPS (or all metadata) from every file
- Spot-checked the first, last and a random file
- Exported a CSV first if you need the locations for records
- Shared the cleaned copies, not the originals
Summary
Removing location from photos one at a time is slow and error-prone. A batch pass with ExifTool cleans an entire set in one go, keeps the dates and camera settings if you want them, and works the same way on Android and iPhone. Make it the last step before any album, listing or link leaves your phone.
FAQ
Can I remove only the location and keep the rest of the metadata?
Yes. You can delete just the GPS tags so capture dates and camera settings stay intact, or wipe all metadata (EXIF, XMP, GPS) in one tap if you want the cleanest possible file.
Will turning off location in the camera clean my old photos?
No. That setting only stops new photos from being geotagged. Photos you already took keep their coordinates until you remove them from the files.
Does batch removal work on videos too?
ExifTool can batch edit metadata across photos and videos, and it supports formats such as MP4, AVI, MKV and MOV. Check a cleaned video afterwards to confirm the location fields are gone.
Quickly view, modify or remove EXIF, GPS, IPTC and XMP data from photos, video and audio on Android. Free and offline-capable.