What EXIF actually is
EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a block of structured data most cameras and phones embed directly inside a JPG or similar file, alongside the pixels. It's not visible when you look at the photo. It lives in the file's header, read only by software that knows to look for it. The pixels are the picture; EXIF is the paperwork that came with it.
What's typically inside
A common set of EXIF fields includes the camera make and model, the lens used, the exact date and time the photo was taken, and capture settings like exposure time, aperture, and ISO. Many devices also embed the software used to process the image. None of this requires location services to be on; it's captured by the camera hardware itself, every time.
Where GPS coordinates come from
If location services were enabled when the photo was taken, EXIF can also carry a precise GPS coordinate: the exact latitude and longitude of where the shutter was pressed, not just a city or neighborhood. This is the single most sensitive thing commonly found in ordinary photo metadata, and it's easy to forget it's there because nothing about the image itself hints at it.
Other metadata beyond EXIF
A file can also carry an ICC color profile (describing how its colors should be interpreted for accurate display) and XMP metadata (a more general, extensible format some editors use for titles, keywords, and copyright info). Both are separate from EXIF but embedded the same way, inside the file, invisible in the image itself.
How metadata removal actually works
The reliable way to strip metadata isn't to edit the existing file's header. It's to re-encode the image from its decoded pixel data only, which never carries the original EXIF or XMP blocks over in the first place. That's the same browser canvas pipeline used for resizing and compressing: decode the pixels, then produce a fresh output file from them. A generic color profile the encoder adds by default is a standard technical detail, not something read from your original file's metadata. IMAGE SIZE PRO's compressor, resizer, and converter all produce their output this way, so a file downloaded from them carries no EXIF or GPS data.
What metadata removal doesn't do
It's worth being precise here: removing embedded metadata is not the same as making a photo anonymous. The visual content of the image (a recognizable face, a street sign, a landmark, a reflection in a window) can still identify who took it or where, no matter what's been stripped from the file header. Treat metadata removal as closing one specific channel of identifying information, not a general privacy guarantee.
When it's worth checking
- Before posting a photo publicly. A GPS tag on a photo posted to a public feed exposes your location to anyone who checks the file, not just people you intended to share it with.
- Before sending a photo to someone you don't fully trust.Date, device, and location data all travel with the file unless it's been stripped.
- When a photo's already been through several apps. Some platforms strip metadata automatically and some don't. Re-encoding the photo before you share it is more reliable than assuming either way.