AliveBoy Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Not trying to scare monger like the legend who was WhackyWill, and some of you may already know this, so apologies if you do. I saw this on a motorbike forum, I'd say it's still pretty important for us though. If you're using your smart phone to take a picture of your car, garage, motorbike etc. please be aware that if you've got gps active it stores your position in the file metadata. As in; the EXACT location the picture was taken. You can download a picture from the internet, view the co-ordinates and use google maps to find the house where the picture was taken. It's a really simple way for some nefarious soul to find out where you keep your expensive toys. It seems that Photobucket automatically removes the GPS data for you, but not all sites do. I found one of my motorbike pictures had a tag literally on top of my garage Below is how to turn off the GPS picture tag on various devices. IOS: 1. Open Settings app. 2. Privacy 3. Location Services 4. On the next page you will see the apps that use your device’s GPS to mark your location and store information about it in one way or the other. 5. find camera and turn its toggle off or never; whichever is available Windows: Right click on the picture > Properties > Details and at the bottom is a link "Remove Properties and Personal Information" In the new window select "Remove the following properties from this file:" Scroll down to the GPS section and select the info to be deleted. Android: Either 1. Open camera app 2. Press the 3 lines in the left hand corner 3. Press the cog symbol for settings 4. Turn off "save location" or 1. Open Camera app 2. Bottom left hand corner, select the cog (settings) button 3. Top of the list is GPS Location info - select "Off" 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 whackywill was more of a ............ this is how my car/bike/boat/skip etc was stolen 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aashenfox Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Well done for reiterating this. I haven't disabled this on my new phone, forgot all about it. Top reminder, thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy_Baton Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Good point, but I think most large upload sites strip out the data (excluding Facebook obviously). I've just switched from Photobucket to imgur and hadn't checked, but can confirm imgur also strip out the data Its called exif data rather than meta data, it stores a lot more than just the GPS. If your getting into photography its really useful info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 *grabs tinfoil hat* 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Is the same true for more intimate pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Is the same true for more intimate pictures? Hard to tell, I've uploaded pictures of my wife and no one has come to steal her yet 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 (edited) Is the same true for more intimate pictures? I don't think coordinates go that small do they? edit: Typo Edited May 10, 2017 by AliveBoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Never thought about this before, except for Facebook tagging. I just checked a sample of mine on photobucket and imgur, nothing there. I did upload a new image to them both from my iPhone, with location services enabled. When I re-downloaded them and checked there was no location data in the EXIF, which was a relief and not to say people should be complacent! Top safety tip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Is the same true for more intimate pictures? I don't think coordinates go that small do they? edit: Typo Got to say Jay's was more creative 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 Is the same true for more intimate pictures? I don't think coordinates go that small do they? edit: Typo Got to say Jay's was more creative I didn't want to reply to Jay as I thought it could open a can of worms 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 wimp lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 And obviously I'm relieved she's not been stolen. She keeps my zeditus in check. Oh look my new spoiler has just be delivered to work... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 ...and of course, it only cost £50 when she asks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 And someone owed me a favour to spray and fit it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 lol. I must remember these tricks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 I wouldn't, I spent a year apart from the wife and kids...although for other reasons. I call it my gap year, which she hates. Point is, I'm a bad role model lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strudul Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 But a bad role model with a cool car 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colesl4w Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Think some of the mugs in ISIS got caught out with something similar. Some dollop posted a photo of himself with an AK in the middle of an ISIS compound (#justTerroristThings), giving away their position and allowing them to be wiped out. Trololol. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 How about with Instagram and Twitter? Does this still apply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 (edited) And what about photos uploaded to this forum? Anyone tried that yet? Edited May 10, 2017 by marzman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 And what about photos uploaded to this forum? Anyone tried that yet? Mine are uploaded from photobucket so I assume that's safe but a very good reminder by Matt. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 And what about photos uploaded to this forum? Anyone tried that yet? Mine are uploaded from photobucket so I assume that's safe but a very good reminder by Matt. Cheers Yes but doesnt the forum allow people to upload attachments? in the My Media section? Its not something i've ever used so dont know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 And what about photos uploaded to this forum? Anyone tried that yet? I rarely do them directly to here, good shout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 And what about photos uploaded to this forum? Anyone tried that yet? I rarely do them directly to here, good shout. Tried to view yours and it says there isnt any. Using this tool, do you see the exif data on your original file? http://www.verexif.com/en/ver.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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