How to share a photo without location on iPhone
One switch in the share sheet keeps your location out of a photo you send. The date still goes with it.
In short
In the Photos app, select the photo, tap Share, tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn off Location; “Location Not Included” then appears above the Options button. Send it by Messages, Mail, AirDrop or any other app from that sheet. The date, the device and any caption are still shared, and the photo in your library keeps its location.
Key takeaways
- Share › Options › Location off strips the location from that share.
- Date, time, device and captions are still sent.
- Leave All Photos Data off unless you mean to send the original.
Share without location
- Open the photo in Photos (or select several), or open it from the Camera app’s camera roll.
- Tap the Share button.
- Tap Options at the top of the share sheet.
- Turn off Location. “Location Not Included” appears above the Options button.
- Choose how to send it: Messages, Mail, AirDrop or another app.
The setting applies to that share. The photo in your library is not changed, and still shows on the map in Photos.
What still goes with the photo
Apple notes that sharing a photo or video includes its metadata, such as date and time, location, device and captions. Turning off Location removes one item from that list, not all of them.
- Date and time: when it was taken, which can be as revealing as where.
- Device: which iPhone took it.
- Captions you added in Photos, and keywords (recent versions of iOS add a Keywords switch to the same Options screen).
- All Photos Data, if turned on: the original file with its edit history and metadata, which the recipient can view and change. Leave it off for anything private.
AirDrop, Messages and links
- AirDrop: the Options choices apply, including All Photos Data, which works with AirDrop.
- Messages and Mail: the photo arrives as a file with whatever metadata you left in. On the other side, photos received in Messages can be saved to the recipient’s library automatically.
- iCloud Link (on iOS 18 and iOS 26): shares a web link to view or download the photo instead of the file. Links are available for 30 days.
If there is no Location switch
If your version of iOS doesn’t show a Location switch under Options, remove the location from the photo itself before sharing: open it, tap the More button, then Adjust Info › Adjust Location › No Location. You can restore it later with Revert. Or check the file with the photo metadata tool on this site, which runs in your browser.
Stop it at the source
If you rarely want location in your photos, set Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera to Never. New photos will carry no location, so there is nothing to remember when you share.