• @GlendatheGayWitch
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    58 days ago

    What is EXIF data? Location and time stamp? How do you remove that from photos and videos?

    • @[email protected]
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      8 days ago

      Exif data can contain everything from the make/model of device used to take a picture, to a gps location of where the picture was taken.

      Removing that information depends on what you’re using to do it, but can be done with an exif editing tool in pretty much any OS I’m aware of.

      Edit: Autocorrect is a pita.

      • @GlendatheGayWitch
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        28 days ago

        I’m on android, is there software that you would suggest using?

        I don’t know if there are apps that can’t be trusted or take your images or data.

    • masterofn001
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      58 days ago

      Metadata contained within the image file.

      Using the one from this post this is what I can see (exif data has been stripped or wasn’t there):

      Here’s another example where the data is plain as day:

    • Zeppo
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      48 days ago

      It is metadata that can include what type of camera took the photo and precise location from GPS. I open photos in GIMP and then export them, taking care to uncheck the exif and a couple other metadata options.

    • @[email protected]
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      48 days ago

      For techies: would opening my photo in MS Paint and doing “save as png” remove exif data?

      • @TrickDacy
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        28 days ago

        Maybe but I wouldn’t trust MS to do the job even if it appeared true. Use a reputable open source tool made for the job if you can

          • @TrickDacy
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            18 days ago

            Interesting. Location is the big one though, which your test image didn’t have.

            • @[email protected]
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              18 days ago

              Good catch. I’m satisfied with the test so I won’t be doing another one. Feel free to try one of your own photos which includes location data and report back to us with your findings.

              • @TrickDacy
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                08 days ago

                Eh, too much trouble to reboot into windows :)

                  • @TrickDacy
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                    08 days ago

                    I think it actually is a good attitude to not trust MS with your privacy but you can do as you wish

      • @[email protected]
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        18 days ago

        From a quick test, that does seem to remove most data.

        Instead of that, if you’re going to through that process for just a few files, the Details tab in the file properties has a link at the bottom to strip all that stuff.

    • JaggedRobotPubes
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      28 days ago

      Scrambled Exif on F-Droid to wipe it.

      Photo, share, choose Scrambled Exif, wait two seconds, share screen comes back, share with friend, and it sends the picture but not the privacy violations.

    • @perviouslyiner
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      8 days ago

      One way is to take a screenshot of the photo. Or load and save in a different format. Or use image sharing sites that remove metadata (imgur used to be the standard one, not sure what’s good now)

    • @[email protected]
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      28 days ago

      If you’re on Windows, right click an image, and go into the properties. There should be a Details tab where you’ll find a bunch of text fields that can be edited.

      There’s also data that doesn’t even show in there. For example, your camera/phone could be set up to save its GPS coordinates in EXIF so that you can keep track of where the pictures were taken. Naturally, unless it’s stripped from the file, that data can be seen by anyone who has access to the file.

      Most image editing software should be able to delete any EXIF data, but there is also software that can mass-edit all of that stuff to simplify the process.