How to turn off location on iPhone photos
Turning off Camera location protects new photos. The ones you already took still carry it.
In short
Go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera and choose Never. New photos and videos taken with the Camera app will no longer contain your location. Photos you already took keep it: remove it from each one in Photos with More › Adjust Info › Adjust Location › No Location.
Key takeaways
- Camera › Never stops location being saved in new photos.
- Existing photos keep their location until you remove it.
- Third-party camera apps have their own location setting.
Why photos contain your location
When the Camera app has access to Location Services, the iPhone uses GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular and Bluetooth information to work out where you are and embeds the coordinates in each photo and video. That is what powers the Map collection in Photos. It is also what someone receiving the original file may be able to read.
Turn it off
- Open Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services.
- Scroll down and tap Camera.
- Tap Never.
Location Services stays on for everything else — Maps, Find My, weather — only the Camera loses access.
The other options
- While Using the App: the Camera can read your location whenever it is open, so every photo is tagged.
- Ask Next Time Or When I Share: the iPhone asks again, so you can allow it once, allow it while using the app, or refuse.
- Precise Location: when off, an app gets only your approximate location. That is less revealing than an exact position, but Never is the only choice that keeps location out entirely.
Photos you already took
Changing the setting does nothing to existing photos. To see which ones carry a location, open Photos, tap Collections and look at the Map collection: only photos with embedded GPS data appear there.
- Open a photo and tap the More button.
- Tap Adjust Info, then Adjust Location.
- Tap No Location.
To change several at once, tap Select in your library, choose the photos, then follow the same steps. Revert restores the original location.
Other cameras
Each app that takes photos — messaging apps, social apps, third-party cameras — has its own entry in the Location Services list. Check those too: turning off the Camera app’s access does not affect them.
Check a file before sending it
The free photo metadata tool on this site shows and removes location and other metadata from a photo in your browser, without uploading it anywhere.