Remove GPS From Photos Before You Post a Google Review

A Google review is public, and so is the photo you attach. Phones write GPS, capture time, and camera model into that file unless you strip them first. The risk is not a stranger buying your couch. It is the restaurant, clinic, or shop you just reviewed being able to save the picture and read the coordinates of the room where you photographed it.

That room is often a kitchen, bathroom, or driveway. People photograph leftover takeout, a damaged online order, a prescription label, a hotel-room stain after they get home, or a product they unboxed at the apartment. They then open Google Maps and attach the original camera JPEG to the business listing. The map pin is the store. The EXIF pin can still be home.

MetadataWipe is the last step before you attach the file: clean the JPEG or PNG on your device, then use the cleaned copy in the review composer. Processing stays in the browser. The original camera file does not need to leave your phone or laptop for this site to work.

What to strip from a Google review photo — and why

Start with GPS. Latitude and longitude in EXIF are a street-level hint. A business owner who downloads your review image can open it in a viewer and see a pin. If you shot the photo at home, that pin is not the storefront they already know — it is you. Combined with the public first name on the review, it is more identifying than the star rating you meant to leave.

Timestamps matter next. DateTimeOriginal can show that you photographed a “same-day” complaint hours later, or that a series of review photos were taken in the same apartment over a weekend. That is rarely the story you intend to tell a shop you are criticizing or praising.

Camera make and model, software tags, and occasional serial-adjacent MakerNotes help correlate images. If you also post the same JPEG on Instagram, a forum, or a chargeback packet, matching device tags tie those copies together. A full wipe is simpler than trying to remove GPS alone and hoping the rest is harmless.

MetadataWipe does not erase pixels. A house number in the window, a child’s face at the table, a name on a wristband, or a laptop screen in the background still need cropping. Strip tags after you crop, so the editor does not write a fresh Software tag onto an otherwise-clean file.

How to clean a review photo in MetadataWipe

1. Export a JPEG or PNG. iPhone HEIC must be saved as JPEG first. The homepage tool opens JPEG and PNG only.
2. Open the MetadataWipe tool. Drop the file. Confirm GPS, DateTimeOriginal, and Make/Model in the panel before you strip.
3. Remove metadata. The tool redraws pixels to a canvas and saves a new browser-generated copy. Typical EXIF/IPTC/XMP blocks are not copied into that export.
4. Download the cleaned file. Filenames end with -metadatawipe so you can tell it from the camera original.
5. Verify, then attach only the export. Re-open the cleaned file in the tool or check Properties / Get Info. Attach that copy in the Google review composer. Leave the geotagged original in a folder that never goes to Maps.

If you still need to take more photos, turn off Location Services for Camera so new shots start clean. That does not rewrite yesterday’s JPEGs — still wipe files you already have.

Realistic review-photo scenarios

The takeout complaint photographed at the kitchen table. You ordered from a Maps listing, plated the food at home, and shot it under apartment lighting. The review is about the restaurant. The JPEG still holds the apartment coordinates. Strip GPS before the photo becomes a public asset on that listing, where the owner — and anyone else — can save it.

The clinic or dental-office review with a wristband or aftercare sheet. People photograph paperwork on the couch after an appointment. The paper may show a name. The file may show a home pin. Cover or crop the paper in an image editor, then run MetadataWipe. Cropping a name is not a metadata wipe; those are different jobs.

The product-defect photo for a retailer with a Google profile. You unboxed a blender at home, shot the cracked lid on the counter, and attached it to a one-star review. Retailers download review photos for vendor disputes. They do not need your kitchen coordinates to see the crack. Wipe the file. If a receipt or order number is in the frame, crop that too.

The hotel or short-stay review shot after you left. Guests sometimes photograph a stain or a broken latch, then finish the review from home. If the photo was taken in the room, GPS may be the hotel — still more precise than a city-level review. If you re-shot the item at home, GPS is your address. Wipe either way so the listing photo is pixels only.

Common mistakes on review photos

Assuming Maps will strip EXIF because Instagram sometimes does. Review attachments are files. Do not outsource GPS removal to a platform you do not control. Clean the file first. For a deeper walkthrough of location tags, use how to remove GPS and location data from a photo.

Wiping one hero shot and attaching three originals as extras. Google reviews allow multiple photos. Each JPEG is its own header. Process every file you attach.

Editing in Photos, then attaching the unedited original from Recents. The cleaned export and the camera original sit next to each other. Attach the -metadatawipe file. After you strip, verify with how to check photo metadata online so GPS did not survive a re-export.

Confusing a screenshot of Maps with the photo you are attaching. A screenshot of the listing is a different file. The risk here is the JPEG you add as review media.

Leaving a Live Photo or a second angle in the same share sheet. Some composers attach more than one asset. Check the preview so you did not also send a geotagged extra.

Related guides

See also:

• Remove GPS and location data from a photo
• How to check photo metadata online