YOUR data embedded in photos you post.

Magna-Carta

Magna-Carta

Senior Member
Location
UK
How can I put this without sounding too alarmist or sounding like the bad guy?

There are some really wonderful photos posted on this forum, professional and amateur. Some amateur photos seem very worthy of printing off and framing, including photos that seem to be taken on the spur of the moment without any planning. Some might see those photos so appealing that they might be curious to see the photo's metadata, by clicking on the photo's Properties.

So here is the thing, as far as I'm aware metadata started to be embedded in photos around 1995. The metadata can be really helpful, it shows the focal length of the lens when taking the photo. It also shows the aperture and shutter speed and date/time the photo was taken. It can also show the make and model of the photographic device. Some metadata even shows the longitude and latitude of where the photo was taken. The longitude and latitude can then be typed into Google Maps, and the location of the photo is revealed!

Imagine then, posting a photo of some aspect of your home or very close to it, and posting that photo on a forum, along with the photos embedded metadata. Depending on the device the photo was taken on and whether it's linked to GPS, you might be unknowingly posting the coordinates of your home, or your whereabouts as you move around your part of the world and take and post photos.

I can see that metadata and I can see it on photos posted here; no special equipment is required. As long as I can access the internet and see a posted photo, I can see the data, as can billions of other people around the world. As I say, I don't want to be alarmist, but imagine someone on a forum then announcing they are going to go on a long holiday. The unscrupulous who quietly look through forums can see that post and the previous metadata of where you live. Some might see it as a burglary opportunity. Some might see it as an opportunity of another kind.

Please, please take care of your own data that some might unknowingly be posting on forums, because no one else will. Fortunately, it's possible to limit or even remove that data before posting.



The metadata below, when used with degrees and minute symbols and the appropriate 'N' 'S' E' 'W' in the correct place, then inputted on Google Maps, will show where the photo was taken. This example is just an image I found on a website of someone showing a small part of their own metadata.

metadata.JPG
 

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iu
 

Don’t take this as fact. I’ve been told that doing a screen shot of your photo doesn’t show any metadata.

I remove the location from my photos on my iPad prior to posting.

I hope these methods work.
 
Whenever I take a picture with my phone it's always so huge that I have to run it through my Paint Shop Pro program to edit it down to a reasonable size. After that there's no info available on the picture except the size and type of pic.

But it's still good to know that more information is available on the picture before it's edited. I didn't realize that.
 
Maybe I am naive, but I don't worry about this kind of thing too much. Both my house and I are visible to thousands of people, every day, always have been. Why should this be much different?

Wouldn't post pictures of hidden gold on the property or anything like that, but most pictures are not much different from what people who live or pass nearby see all the time.
Pepper said:
Oh well, now you know.
Click to expand...
Lock your doors, I'm on the way... LOL
 
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caroln said:
Whenever I take a picture with my phone it's always so huge that I have to run it through my Paint Shop Pro program to edit it down to a reasonable size. After that there's no info available on the picture except the size and type of pic.

But it's still good to know that more information is available on the picture before it's edited. I didn't realize that.
Click to expand...
If I knew if your phone was Android or Apple, could explain how to reduce photos size when taking, all phones have a setting, in Settings
Camera to reduce the size (MB)
 
@kburra, I just noticed that I can turn off "geo-tagging" on my phone in settings. Found this info: By default, every photo you take with your iPhone or Android tags your GPS location and stores that data with your photo. If you're not interested in giving out your location when sharing photos, we suggest you turn this feature off to protect your privacy.

As far as size of pictures on my Android phone, all I found was a choice of resolution. 4:3 (2592x1944) or 16:9 (2560x1440) or 16:9 (1920x1080) All of those are still really big.
 
caroln said:
@kburra, I just noticed that I can turn off "geo-tagging" on my phone in settings. Found this info: By default, every photo you take with your iPhone or Android tags your GPS location and stores that data with your photo. If you're not interested in giving out your location when sharing photos, we suggest you turn this feature off to protect your privacy.

As far as size of pictures on my Android phone, all I found was a choice of resolution. 4:3 (2592x1944) or 16:9 (2560x1440) or 16:9 (1920x1080) All of those are still really big.
Click to expand...

On my iPhone I can do the same. But also switch it off for different Apps, specifically for the camera:
Tap 'Settings', 'Privacy', 'Location Services'.
Scroll down to and tap 'Camera', then tap 'Never'.

You can always switch it back on later if you feel there is a need to. I've just tried ith with and without. The first photo giving GPS coordinates and the second photo has none.
 
I don't have a cell phone, and I haven't figured out how to put pictures here.
 

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