A photograph can say much more about you than the visible image on the display. In addition to the people, locations, and objects that the photo depicts, the file can include metadata about yourself, such as your location, the date and time of capturing the image, the model of the device used, and parameters of the camera. Even the image itself can contain your home address, phone number, ID document, or computer screen that you were using while taking the photo.

Such personal data may be accidentally disclosed through the publication of photos in the social network, messenger, online marketplace, or any other forum. It is noteworthy that this information may not be significant for the user himself but may provide clues about his identity, habits, and even location. However, there is no need to have any special skills in order to avoid such consequences. You can delete photo metadata, disable location tracking, blur sensitive parts of the photo, crop unnecessary parts, and preview it before posting.

This guide will help users remove metadata and personal information from the images before sharing them.

Why Should You Erase Personal Data from Photos?

Digital images carry two forms of data – the one that is seen and the one stored along with the image. While the first is visible, the second can easily escape our notice. Let us consider that you have taken a picture outside your house and uploaded it on your social media profile. That photograph carries location coordinates that lead to the place of origin of the photograph. Even if you try not to say anything about your address, your photograph may tell everything about it.

Here are some of the reasons why you should check your photographs before publishing them online.

1. Ensure Your Location Privacy

Most smartphones and cameras embed geographical location into photos when location services are enabled. This information is usually stored in the Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF).

When you upload your original photo that contains GPS coordinates, it can be possible for someone using proper software to determine where the photo was taken. In certain scenarios, it can be your home address, workplace, school, or places you visit often.

2. Prevent Disclosure of Device Information and Other Personal Information

Metadata in photos can contain information about the camera and smartphone that was used to take that photo. The information may consist of the manufacturer of the device, the model, the date and time of taking the photo, and even other parameters of your camera. This information is not dangerous in itself. But you can limit the unnecessary information for security purposes.

3. Do Not Share Personal Information by Mistake

In some cases, it may be that the potential leak of personal information can be seen directly from the image rather than found in the metadata. A snapshot of your desk could show a document with your personal address written on it. A screen grab can include an email address, account number, notification, or conversation. In the same way, an image of a car can include the license plate of the car. Removing the metadata will not help here. It will be necessary to check the picture and edit out any personal information before posting the picture.

4. Prevent Unnecessary Monitoring of Your Actions

Personal information such as location, timestamp, etc. can serve as the context that could be used by someone to link all the images together and create an idea about your activities.

For instance, various pictures that contain location coordinates and time stamps might indicate when you go to a certain place.

5. Share Pictures With More Assurance

When you share pictures on the go, while shopping online, at work, or when you share family photos, doing a little privacy check may come in handy and will save you from some trouble. We don’t want to strip all information out of each photo but rather remove the information that people won’t need and that we want to keep secret.

What Type of Information Can You Find in Your Photos?

Before we start deleting the information, we should know what type of information we can find in our photos.

1. EXIF Metadata

EXIF is an acronym for Exchangeable Image File Format. This format is used to embed metadata into images and provide information about their creation and camera settings. Depending on the device and software that was used, EXIF data can contain the following:

• Manufacturer and model of the camera or smartphone.
• Time and date of picture creation.
• Coordinates and geographic location.
• Settings of the camera, like exposure time, aperture, ISO.
• Orientation and dimensions of the image.
• Software used for editing.

This information is not available in all images. Some pictures can have another set of metadata depending on how they were created or processed.

2. Location Data from GPS

GPS metadata requires particular consideration since it may indicate the geographical position of where a picture was taken. When location tagging is turned on in a photo, latitude and longitude information may be included in it. Based on such data, mapping applications might determine the exact or approximate place of picture capture. If you do not want anyone to know where your picture was taken, make sure that location data is stripped from it.

3. File Information and Date Stamps

Image files may contain date stamps for creation or modification, file names, and other filesystem data. Some of this data is stored externally to the image. For instance, an image titled Home_Address_Document.jpg may disclose some information regardless of whether the image has any GPS information. Remember that the filesystem date stamps may change when transferring or downloading a file.

4. Visible Personal Information

A photograph may contain personal information through the visible elements, such as the following:

• Identity cards, passports, driving licenses.
• Bank statements, bills, medical records.
• Personal address, telephone number, email address.
• Screens of computers, web pages, notifications.
• Number plates of cars and shipments.
• People’s faces who have not consented to their public release.
• Mirror reflections, window reflections, and reflections from other reflective surfaces.

Just removing metadata from a photograph will not help to mitigate any of these threats. You should always check the photograph itself.

How to Remove Personal Information From Photos on Windows 11

A built-in feature in Windows that enables users to review and delete some properties of images without the use of third-party software exists. This is a good starting point when trying to get rid of metadata before sending the file.

Method 1: How to Remove Photo Metadata by Using File Properties

Perform these actions to get rid of any personal metadata that can be deleted from an image in Windows 11.

1. Press Windows + E to open File Explorer.
2. Go to the folder where the image is stored.
3. Right-click on the image and select Properties.
4. Click on the Details tab.
5. Click on Remove Properties and Personal Information.
   
6. Choose whether to “Create a copy with all possible properties removed” or “Remove the following properties from this file”.
   
7. In case you have chosen to create a copy, click OK to make an image file.

This feature will try to delete all the possible properties that it supports. The information available for deletion may depend on the type of the image file and its metadata. Copying is usually a better option, as you will be able to keep your original image and its data.

Method 2: Delete Selected Metadata Tags

In case you wish to retain certain image properties and delete others, then it can be possible under Windows to choose particular properties to remove.

1. Right-click the picture and click Properties.
2. Go to the Details tab.
3. Click the Remove Properties and Personal Information link.
4. Click Remove the following properties from this file.
5. Select the metadata tags you wish to remove.
   
6. Click OK.

This will depend on the type of image and the fields available. If GPS data is available via the supported metadata fields, choose the location-related fields. If this option does not show the required data, use a tool capable of inspecting the metadata tags.

Method 3: Inspect the Picture after Removal of Metadata

One should not presume that all potentially sensitive fields have been stripped away just because the removal has been completed on Windows. For inspecting the picture:

1. Click the picture right button.
2. Go to the Properties tab.
3. Then go to the Details tab.
4. Inspect the various fields.
5. Look for location coordinates, camera data, time stamps, and so forth.
6. Make sure that the unwanted data is no longer present.
7. Not all fields in all images are revealed in the Windows properties panel.

Steps for Removing Metadata from Photos Using a Third-Party Software Application

While there are some built-in features in the operating system to help you, these features do not expose all metadata fields. You can try using a metadata-specific software application for this purpose.

Photos Exif Editor is one such tool for viewing and modifying image metadata. It includes powerful features that can edit EXIF/IPTC/XMP data in digital photos. This software supports all the major image formats like JPG, BMP, PNG, TIFF, and more, including RAW. Users can process multiple images and avail batch editing of multiple images rather than a single one. Here is how you can use this app.

Download this app from the official website.

Install the app and open it.

Choose to add a folder of images or individual images.

Once the image opens in the app,  you can look for the EXIF details and click on the Start Process Button to remove these details.

Hiding Personal Information in a Photograph

While removing the metadata is just one step in securing your photograph’s privacy, you need to make sure of another important aspect.

1. Remove Unwanted Information by Cropping

It can be helpful to use cropping when there is some personal information located near the edges of an image. When you sell something on the Internet, for instance, it can be better to cut out the shipping label or any other document seen on the back side of the photo.

Cropping reduces the amount of data in the image; however, it doesn’t necessarily delete the data completely from all possible editing applications. Save the new version of the image and check its output.

2. Blur Faces and Other Identifiable Information

Blurring is helpful when you want to hide faces, account numbers, email, licence plates, or any other personal information without proper consent. Make sure that the image is sufficiently blurred so that no personal data is revealed. In case of highly sensitive information, an opaque cover can work better than blurring.

3. Cover Sensitive Text Completely

If you need to conceal passwords, addresses, phone numbers, or any other financial data, do so using a solid opaque shape instead of a transparent one. Examine the image at its highest resolution to make sure that the text is not visible around the edges.

4. Verify Background and Reflections

Photographs may provide information that was not the intended focus of the photograph. Information regarding computer monitors, mirrors, windows, glossy objects, or even the background of a product photograph can be provided. Make sure that everything in the image has been zoomed in and examined before publishing the image.

5. Examine Screenshots Closely

Screenshots provide more personal information than normal photographs. Browser tabs, accounts, notifications, documents, and chat previews are all possible in screenshots. Crop the image and conceal sensitive information before posting it online.

Also Read: Organize and Edit Photos In Windows Photo Gallery Like A Pro

Common Errors That Can Be Made While Stripping Personal Data from Photos

It’s possible to overlook some information even with the most meticulous check for privacy. Don’t make these common errors.

Error 1: Deleting the EXIF data but leaving the Image

An empty metadata tab is no guarantee that the picture is safe if it depicts your address or ID document.

What to do: Examine the photo and its metadata.

Error 2: Assuming the Lack of Metadata in Screen Captures

While screen captures don’t have camera EXIF tags like regular photos, they can also have personal details and other metadata embedded within them.

What to do: Scan screen captures for any potential privacy risks.

Mistake 3: Depending on Social Media Privacy Options Alone

A private account can restrict viewership, but it does not ensure the confidentiality of the images from all recipients.

What to do: Strip the image of any unnecessary information and consider the audience that might distribute the image.

Mistake 4: Applying Poor Quality Blurring or See-through Annotations

Inadequate blurring or an opaque annotation may make the text visible.

What to do: Cover the text with something solid, crop the image, or save a flattened version of it.

Mistake 5: Not Changing the Image File Name

The image file, which contains the name of the person, address, project, or confidential document, will reveal personal information regardless of the image metadata.

What to do: Rename the file of the image you share to photo-share.jpg.

Error No. 6: Neglecting to Check the Exported Image for Metadata

Metadata can be saved when an image editor exports an image file.

What to do: Look at the exported image, not the original image or even a preview from the software itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Images form an integral part of digital communication. However, some aspects of those images can give out details about your life that you never wanted to be made public. This can include GPS coordinates, camera settings, timestamps, document text, and even objects in the background.

However, there is no need for complicated software to keep your data private. Windows allows you to strip the available image metadata in its standard applications, while Metadata software comes in handy when more in-depth analysis and stripping is required. Always make it a point to look into both the image and its metadata before you decide to share it. Strip the unnecessary data and create a new file for sharing purposes. Remember to save the original file separately in case of need.