How To: Change This Privacy Setting Before You Share Any Pictures on Google Photos

Sharing pictures from Google Photos by sending a link saves time because you don't have to download the image from Google, then reupload it somewhere else. But anyone who has your link can access your pictures, and baked into every file is metadata that you may not want prying eyes to know about.

Most phones record your location each time you take a photo. This information is stored alongside the photo as EXIF metadata. Google Photos displays this location on a map widget that appears when you swipe up on a photo shared using a link. This sensitive data could potentially be a threat to you, but you can protect yourself very easily by disabling metadata in photos when you share them via links.

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Removing Geolocation Data

Open the Google Photos app (Android | iOS) and tap the hamburger button in the top-left corner. From there, select "Settings" in the side menu, then enable the "Remove geo location" toggle on the next screen. Now when you share your photos via a link, your location will not be included.

This will only remove geolocation data from images sent via a link. If you download the image from Google's servers and share it as a file using some other medium, it can't be guaranteed the other service won't show viewers your location.