Does taking a screenshot remove location?

Yes. A screenshot is a new image without the original's GPS data. It also loses quality, so removing the location properly is better.

Should I turn off location for the camera completely?

You don't have to. Keeping location in your originals lets you find photos by place and build a travel map. Remove it only from copies you share.

How to remove location from photos before sharing

Updated November 10, 2026 · 5 min read

A photo taken at home carries your home's coordinates, accurate to a few metres. That's fine in your own camera roll and on your own travel map, but not something to send to strangers. Here's how to share photos without their location, while keeping it in your originals.

Not sure whether a photo has a location? Check it in the photo location finder. It runs in your browser, so the photo isn't uploaded anywhere.

iPhone: remove location when sharing

1Select the photos in the Photos app and tap Share.
2Tap Options at the top of the share sheet.
3Turn off Location and tap Done, then share as usual.

This removes the location from the copies you send and leaves your originals untouched.

iPhone: remove location from the photo itself

Open the photo, swipe up, tap Adjust next to the location and choose No Location. You can undo this later with the same button.

Android with Google Photos

Open the photo, swipe up to see the details and tap the edit icon next to the location to remove it.

For links you share from Google Photos, look in Google Photos settings for the option to remove geo location from items shared by link.

Windows

1Right-click the photo and choose Properties → Details.
2Click Remove Properties and Personal Information at the bottom.
3Choose Create a copy with all possible properties removed, or pick the GPS fields to remove from the original.

Mac

In the Photos app, select the photos and choose Image → Location → Hide Location. Exported or shared copies won't include it.

Which apps remove location for you

Removed automatically: Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter) and WhatsApp strip metadata from photos you post or send.
Usually kept: email attachments, AirDrop (unless you turn it off in Options), cloud drives like Google Drive, Dropbox and iCloud links, and photos sent as files in Telegram or Signal.

When in doubt, remove it yourself before sending. It takes a few seconds.

Share a travel map without exact locations

Sometimes you want to show where you've been without pinning your hotel or your friend's house. Trailroll's share link has a hide exact locations setting: pins on the shared map snap to a ~5 km grid, so viewers see the area, not the street. You can also hide dates. Your own map keeps the full detail.

Put all your trips on one mapUpload your photos and Trailroll pins each one where it was taken. Free for your first 500 photos.

Make my travel map

Questions

Does taking a screenshot remove location?: Yes. A screenshot is a new image without the original's GPS data. It also loses quality, so removing the location properly is better.
Should I turn off location for the camera completely?: You don't have to. Keeping location in your originals lets you find photos by place and build a travel map. Remove it only from copies you share.