So, you're new to Steem, and you decide to make an #introduceyourself post. Great! You're off to a good start. You hit the "Submit a Story" link, compose your post, and you add a number of pictures of yourself, some of which are obviously taken in your house. You're about to hit the "Post" button, but...
Before you submit that post, you might want to check something first.
Some people are not aware that images can contain metadata called EXIF data. This extra data can contain information like the date the photo was taken, the settings of the camera at the time the photo was taken, but most importantly, the EXIF data can contain the location of the photo. This is becoming increasingly common these days as more and more people are using their GPS enabled smartphones to take their pictures.
Now, you might be fine with this, but, if you're not willing to give that information away (especially if the photo was taken at your home address) you need to check the EXIF data to see if it contains your location, and, if it does, remove it.
How can I do this?
The offline way
If you haven't uploaded your photo yet, you can use a utility on your computer to remove the metadata...
| OS | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Linux | You can use "exiftool" from the command line to remove the data.exiftool -all= MyImage.jpg |
| Mac | You can use ImageOptim. https://imageoptim.com/mac |
| Windows | Right-click on the image, select "Properties", click on the "Details" tab, then click "Remove Properties and Personal Information" at the bottom... |
The online way
If you have already uploaded your image and want to check it, there are a number of web tools that will take the URL of an image, process it, and show you the EXIF metadata.
- Paste your image URL into the top box on that site and submit it.
- If you see a "Location" section in the table on the left, you know you need to strip it out.
The previously mentioned site only shows you the EXIF information. To actually remove it you need to use a different site.
- Paste the URL into the box on the right, and click on the "Remove EXIF" button.
- Save the cleaned up image to your computer.
- Upload it to your image host.
Privacy preserved
Now you can update your #introduceyourself post with your cleaned up images and submit it. Your location privacy will be preserved, and you shouldn't get any weird Steemit stalkers turning up at your house unannounced!
Congratulations! And welcome to Steemit!
This is a very good point to make. There are probably a lot of people who would benefit from reading this as I'm not sure how people are fully aware of it.
D'oh.. yeah, this is not obvious to most people. Nice catch.
Everyone who posts pictures taken with a smartphone or a digital camera should be doing this ..
You just delayed my post by a few minutes ;)
It seems odd to me that my pictures are using so much diskspace, can you elaborate if that is a factor?
I will make sure to remove any meta data from now on, i was not aware of this at all.
Very good idea to mention the exif data problem - I use xnview as my photoviewer and to remove my exif data with it.
great tip! There needs to be more helpful hints like this to educate people that are less familiar with technology and online security in general! :)
Great info. I actually just figured this out during the past week. I had no idea how much info was being stored in with those images. It gives VERY specific latitude, longitude, and altitude information. If you want to turn this feature off, (on an iPhone) go to Settings > Privacy>Location Services. THAT is where you choose to turn it off. You can turn it back on if needed for various apps.
Good info.
Never knew that! Thanks for the post. Privacy buffs need to read this asap and use the steps above to remove personal information.
I did not know that, thanks a bunch @movievertigo. The information is greatly appreciated.
A very useful post. I will bet anyone, in fact up to two people, 1 SD this post wont get five dollars in tweleve hours. The bet is only valid until an hour after this reply. I am a 'low' better.😃
No takers.
You were luck nobody took you up on the bet ;-) (Though I was beginning to think the same as you to start with)
I can see combining this with the attractive female element we have a stalker's paradise.. It doesn't only apply to Steemit.. No no.. Those perverts will use Facebook... hmmm those hotties on Facebook.. excuse me while Iook for "friends".😍😍😲😲😲😲
Just kidding😇
You have a good point here, that most people dont even know about.
Let people know!
I'm trying my best! That's what this post is for :)
I fucking hate metadata. A picture should be a picture, end of.
Wow crazy some people are actually sharing their home location.
Yep, most without even realising it!
good recommendation!
Great post. This is really useful info!
Thank you very much for sharing that information I will definitely pay more attention moving forward in posting pictures!