How to check if a photo has location data

1. Open the photo in the Photos app.
2. Swipe up on the picture, or tap the ⓘ button below it.
3. If the photo has coordinates you will see a map with the nearest address or place name. If it has none, the panel says No Location.

The same panel lists the camera, lens, ISO, shutter speed and the capture date, so it doubles as a quick look at the rest of the metadata. Tapping Adjust under the map lets you change or remove the location for the copy in your library; the location removal guide explains what that does and does not clear.

1. Open the photo in Google Photos.
2. Swipe up, or tap the three-dot menu and choose Details.
3. A map and a place name under the details mean the photo has coordinates. No map means none was recorded.

Samsung's Gallery app shows the same information when you swipe up and open Details; other manufacturers' gallery apps put it behind an info icon. Google Photos also lets you edit or remove the location from this screen.

1. Open the photo in Preview.
2. Choose Tools → Show Inspector, or press ⌘I.
3. Click the ⓘ tab. A GPS sub-tab appears only when the file contains coordinates and includes a Show in Maps button; the Exif sub-tab lists date, camera and settings.

In the Photos app on Mac, select a picture and press ⌘I; the info window shows a map when there is a location. Finder's Get Info window shows dimensions and the camera model but not coordinates.

1. Right-click the image file and choose Properties.
2. Open the Details tab.
3. Scroll to the GPS section. If it lists Latitude, Longitude and Altitude, the photo has location; if the section is missing, it does not.

The Remove Properties and Personal Information link at the bottom of that tab can write a copy with the properties cleared. It handles the standard fields but not every XMP or maker-specific block, so it is worth checking the result.

Choose or drop a JPEG, PNG or WebP into the checker at the top of this page. The result groups what it finds into categories; GPS coordinates under Location means the file has a position. The file is read by the page's own script and never leaves your browser, which makes this a safe way to inspect a photo someone else sent you. On the command line, exiftool -gps:all photo.jpg prints the same fields in full.

Phone GPS fixes are accurate to a few metres outdoors, so coordinates in a photo point to a building, not a neighbourhood. Altitude and, on many phones, the compass heading are recorded alongside. One photo shows where you stood once; a folder of photos taken over months shows where you live, work and spend weekends, which is why marketplace listings and group chats deserve a check before sending.

Coordinates are also easy to edit and are not proof of anything on their own. Phones let you adjust the location in the gallery, and any field can be rewritten with free tools.

• Screenshots. They are new images rendered by the operating system and contain no camera data.
• Pictures saved from Instagram, Facebook, X or a WhatsApp photo message; those services strip EXIF for recipients.
• Photos taken with location switched off for the camera app, or with a camera that has no GPS.
• Scans and images exported by most design tools.

Photos that usually do have one: anything taken with a phone's default camera app while it was allowed to use your location, and photos received as files, by email, by AirDrop or through iMessage. The app-by-app list covers the rest.

The browser checker takes one file at a time. The iPhone and Android app shows the location on a map for each photo it scans, cleans several selected photos in one pass with Pro, and reports when a photo is already clean, so a whole listing or album can be checked before it goes out.