Photo Metadata: What Your File Says About You
Every photograph carries service information inside that you never typed. For work it is useful; for publication it is often excessive and occasionally dangerous.
What is recorded there
- The camera or phone model and serial number
- Date and time of capture, accurate to the second
- Settings: shutter speed, aperture, sensitivity, focal length
- The coordinates of the location, if geotagging was on
- The processing software and a history of edits
- Sometimes the device owner's name
Why this is dangerous
Coordinates are the principal risk. A photograph taken at home carries a home address accurate to a few metres. A series of shots reveals routines and routes. For work of a sensitive nature this is unacceptable: it concerns the safety of the person in the frame, not merely your own privacy.
A serial number links all your work together, including pictures published under different names.
What platforms do
Most large services strip metadata on upload — but not all and not always. You cannot rely on it: rules change, and a direct link to a file on your own site serves it as it is.
How to clean
Exporting for publication as a separate operation with metadata writing disabled is the most reliable route. It is also worth checking finished files: utilities exist that display the contents of service fields with a single command.
What to keep
Author details and usage terms are the only things worth preserving. They give nothing away and mark the work as yours.
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