How to remove location from iPhone photos and videos

To remove location from iPhone photos, the Photos app offers two ways: No Location, under the photo's More button, or turning off Location in Options when you share. Both only take out the place, so the date, time and device model stay in the file. To clean the whole photo (HEIC or JPG) or video (MOV), use a remover that runs in your browser, like MetaRemove, which never uploads the file to a server.

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Method 1: remove the location in the Photos app

  1. Open the Photos app and tap Albums.
  2. Open the photo and tap the More button.
  3. Tap Adjust Info, then Adjust Location.
  4. Tap No Location.

The change applies to the photo in your library. Apple documents this step for photos, and it only touches the location.

Method 2: leave the location out only when sharing

  1. Select one or more photos in the Photos app.
  2. Tap the Share Sheet button, then tap Options.
  3. Turn off Location. “Location Not Included” shows above the Options button.
  4. Choose how to send.

This only cleans the copy you send in that share. The photo in your library keeps its location, and the copy still carries date, time and device.

Method 3: stop location on future photos and videos

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
  2. Tap Camera, then tap Never.

Per Apple, location can only be recorded when the Camera has access to Location Services. Photos and videos you already took don't change.

What the iPhone methods don't remove

Apple says it in the iPhone User Guide: sharing a photo or video includes its associated metadata, such as date and time, location, device and captions. Turning off Location takes one item off that list. The rest travels with the file.

In an iPhone photo, these stay in the file:

  • the date and time the photo was taken
  • the device make and model
  • the lens used
  • the iOS version
  • the camera's internal notes (Apple MakerNote)

In a video (MOV), location lives in a different part of the file: the com.apple.quicktime keys, next to the model, iOS version and recording date. See the fields in an iPhone MOV.

When the file leaves as a file, without conversion (AirDrop, email attachment, Google Drive, WhatsApp as a document), everything in it can go along.

Sources: Apple, Manage location metadata in Photos and Share photos and videos on iPhone.

Method 4

Method 4: clean the whole file with MetaRemove

MetaRemove reads and cleans the file in your browser, on the iPhone itself or on a computer. The file is never uploaded to a server.

  1. Drop the photo (HEIC or JPG) or video (MOV) into the checker.
  2. See what was found: GPS, date, device and software. This check is free.
  3. Download the clean copy. Cleaning is part of the paid plans.

HEIC photos are cleaned as they are, with no conversion to JPG and no re-encoding: the image, rotation and color profile stay the same.

Drop an iPhone photo or video or tap to choose one HEIC, JPG, PNG, MOV, MP4
The file stays on your device

What goes and what stays

Applies to HEIC, JPG and PNG photos and MOV and MP4 videos. Technical names as ExifTool shows them; which fields exist depends on the device and iOS version.

Field Where it lives (photo · video)
Location (GPS) Exif GPS · com.apple.quicktime.location.ISO6709 Removed
Date and time DateTimeOriginal · com.apple.quicktime.creationdate Removed
Device and lens Make, Model, LensModel · com.apple.quicktime.make / .model Removed
iOS version Software · com.apple.quicktime.software Removed
XMP and camera notes XMP, MakerNote · uuid and udta boxes Removed
Image, video and audio copied without re-encoding Kept
Rotation and color profile irot / Orientation, ICC Kept

Frequently asked questions

Does sending on WhatsApp remove the location?
It depends on how you send it, and WhatsApp doesn't publish what it removes. Sent as a document, the photo may arrive with its original metadata, GPS included. To avoid depending on the app, clean the file first.
How do I remove location from an iPhone video?
Apple's steps for removing location mention photos. To clean the .mov file itself, use MetaRemove: it removes the location (com.apple.quicktime.location.ISO6709), model, iOS version and recording dates, without re-encoding the video.
Does turning off Camera location remove it from old photos?
No. Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Camera > Never stops the Camera from recording location from now on. Photos and videos already in your library keep it.
Does it work with HEIC?
Yes. MetaRemove cleans HEIC directly, with no conversion to JPG and no re-encoding. The Exif and XMP blocks go (GPS, date, device, lens, iOS version). The image, rotation and color profile stay.
Is my photo or video uploaded to a server?
No. The check and the cleaning run in your browser, on your device. The file never leaves it.
How much does it cost?
Viewing the metadata is free and needs no account. To download the clean copy, plans cost $2 per week, $4 per month or $40 per year.

See also

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