What is hidden inside a photo file
A photo file holds more than the picture. Next to the pixels, phones and cameras save a block of notes, usually called EXIF data or metadata. It often includes the date and time, the model of the phone or camera, the camera settings and, if location was switched on for the camera app, the GPS position where the photo was taken. Some files also carry the name of the editing software, an author or copyright name, and extra notes in formats called XMP and IPTC.
Why it matters
Most of the time it is harmless. It matters when a photo reaches people you do not know. A picture of an item for sale taken at home can carry the position of your home. A photo shared as a public link can show when and with what phone it was taken.
Whether someone can read this data depends on where you share the photo. Some services remove it when you upload, and others pass the file on exactly as it is, such as email attachments, files sent as documents, links to cloud storage, and forums or marketplaces that keep the original file. You cannot always tell which is which, so cleaning the file yourself is the sure way.
See what a photo contains
Velfile shows you the list before it changes anything. Open Remove Photo Metadata, choose a photo, and you will see rows such as Location (GPS), Camera or phone and Date taken, with the values that were found. On a computer you can also look in the file's properties: on Windows, right-click the file, choose Properties and open the Details tab.
How to remove it with Velfile
- Open Remove Photo Metadata and choose a JPG, PNG or WebP photo, or drop it on the box. iPhone HEIC photos are accepted too, and are turned into JPG first.
- Read the list of hidden data found in the photo.
- Press Download clean photo. The new file is named like the original with -clean added.
- To clean many photos, choose several at once, up to 30, press Clean all and download a ZIP.
Your photos are processed in your browser and are never uploaded. After cleaning, the page reads the new file again and tells you that no location, camera or date data is left.
What stays the same
The picture does not change. For JPG, PNG and WebP, only the hidden notes are cut out, and the picture is not saved again, so there is no new compression and no loss in quality. The colour profile is kept, so colours look the same. Some photos are stored sideways with a small note that tells apps to turn them upright. That one rotation note is kept, because without it the photo would show sideways. It holds no personal information.
Switch it off at the source
You can also stop new photos from saving a location. In your camera app's settings, look for an option such as Location tags or Save location and turn it off. The wording differs between phones. Keep in mind that photos you already took still carry what they were saved with, so clean those before you share them.
What cleaning cannot hide
- What is visible in the picture, such as a street sign, a house number or a shop front.
- The file name, if you chose one that contains a name or a place.
- The text of your message, if you tell people where the photo was taken.
Before you share it
Open the cleaned photo and make sure it looks the way you expect. If the file is too large for an upload form, shrink it with Compress Image or change its size with Resize Image.
Last updated: 17 October 2026