How to tell if a photo has a location
A photo has a location if it carries GPS coordinates in its EXIF data. Phones add them when location tagging is on for the camera, and most cameras without GPS add none. This page shows a red Found location badge and the decimal coordinates when it finds them.
You can also check without this tool: on Windows, right-click the file, choose Properties, then the Details tab and look for Latitude and Longitude. On a Mac, open the photo in Preview, choose Tools, Show Inspector and open the GPS tab.
What the results mean
- Location: latitude and longitude in decimal degrees. Paste them into any map app to see the place; the tool never loads a map itself.
- Date taken: when the camera says the photo was taken, in the camera's local time.
- Camera and software: the phone or camera model and the app or firmware version that wrote the file.
- Serial numbers: a body or lens serial number, which can tie photos to one device.
- Other: counts of remaining EXIF tags, XMP, IPTC, comments, text chunks and thumbnails.
Which apps remove location and which keep it
It depends on how you share the photo. Treat these as typical behaviour, and check the photo you actually send if it matters:
- WhatsApp: photos sent the normal way are compressed and lose their location. Sent as a Document, the original file goes through with all its metadata.
- Facebook, Instagram and X: they remove location from the copy other people see, though the service itself receives the original.
- Email attachments, AirDrop, USB and shared-folder links (Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud) send the original file with its metadata. On recent iPhones the share sheet has an Options button with a Location switch for photos.
- Your own website, a marketplace listing or a forum may publish the file exactly as you upload it.
Cleaning the file before you share it works the same everywhere.
iPhone HEIC photos
iPhones save photos as HEIC by default. This tool cleans JPEG, PNG and WebP. For a HEIC photo, use HEIC to JPG: it converts the photo to JPG and leaves out the location and camera details, so the result is already clean. You can then drop it here to check.
If you choose Most Compatible under Settings, Camera, Formats, new iPhone photos are saved as JPEG, which this tool can clean directly.
Questions
How do I check if a photo has location?
Drop it into this page. If it has GPS data you will see a Found location badge with the coordinates, otherwise it says none was found.
Does WhatsApp remove location from photos?
Photos sent the normal way lose their location because WhatsApp compresses them. Photos sent as a Document keep the original file and its metadata.
Why does my photo show no location?
Location tagging may have been off when you took it, or an app, chat service or editor removed it when the photo was shared or saved. Screenshots never have one.
Is it safe to check a private photo here?
Yes. The photo is read inside your browser and never uploaded, and the page is blocked from sending data to other sites.