I noticed that quite a few members blank out their rego plates in the pics they upload to the forum, so Im assuming that people prefer to limit any info that can readily identify or locate them; and that's fair enough.
Most newer cameras and smart phones attach a vast array of data to the images they record, and that data is embedded into the image as whats called EXIF data (Exchangeable Image File), and that data is unique to each image. The EXIF data includes the common info you'd already be aware of such as pics file name along with the date and time the pic was taken. What you may not be aware of is the EXIF data also includes much, much more info such as camera data, settings, altitude and most importantly the exact GPS location of where the pic was taken, even sometimes along with the direction the camera was facing at the time the photo was taken.
Accessing the EXIF data is very simple on any computer or smart device, so snapping away at mods, repairs and such at home and then uploading those pics to the forum can advertise not only your home address, but also the side of the house the van is parked. I don't have Facebook, but Id be pretty confident that EXIF data would be obscured by the Facebook system on upload. Not so lucky with this forum, and many other forums. In a matter of minutes Ive identified the home addresses of a few members just from the pics they've posted.
Some people shrink their images before uploading them because the forum wont accept large images. Some compression programs that shrink images may remove the EXIF data, but many such programs protect the EXIF data and attached it to the modified image.
There is a few methods to remove the EXIF data prior to uploading. The first is of course turning off the GPS location function of the device in the first place ... the second is using software or Apps to remove EXIF data before posting. I prefer to have all my image geotagged so I always know where an image was taken. I also plot each of my images on a satellite map file, so that EXIF info is very important to me.
So if you have no use for the benefits of geotagging of images simply turn off the GPS. But if your not sure or prefer not to disable your GPS which also affects Maps, navigation and Wikicamps etc, the programs below are very simple programs to use, and they do batch processing of blocks of images.
Android EXIF Eraser
EXIF Eraser removes the EXIF data right on the phone, and is a free App
iPhone Metapho
Windows and IOS EXIF Purge
EXIF Purge is a portable non installing program that will create copies of your pics before it removes the EXIF data from the copy images
Windows Easy EXIF Delete
Easy EXIF Delete will remove the EXIF data from the pics selected and makes no copies, so be careful to use only on copies of the pics and not the originals or that data will be lost forever
Most newer cameras and smart phones attach a vast array of data to the images they record, and that data is embedded into the image as whats called EXIF data (Exchangeable Image File), and that data is unique to each image. The EXIF data includes the common info you'd already be aware of such as pics file name along with the date and time the pic was taken. What you may not be aware of is the EXIF data also includes much, much more info such as camera data, settings, altitude and most importantly the exact GPS location of where the pic was taken, even sometimes along with the direction the camera was facing at the time the photo was taken.
Accessing the EXIF data is very simple on any computer or smart device, so snapping away at mods, repairs and such at home and then uploading those pics to the forum can advertise not only your home address, but also the side of the house the van is parked. I don't have Facebook, but Id be pretty confident that EXIF data would be obscured by the Facebook system on upload. Not so lucky with this forum, and many other forums. In a matter of minutes Ive identified the home addresses of a few members just from the pics they've posted.
Some people shrink their images before uploading them because the forum wont accept large images. Some compression programs that shrink images may remove the EXIF data, but many such programs protect the EXIF data and attached it to the modified image.
There is a few methods to remove the EXIF data prior to uploading. The first is of course turning off the GPS location function of the device in the first place ... the second is using software or Apps to remove EXIF data before posting. I prefer to have all my image geotagged so I always know where an image was taken. I also plot each of my images on a satellite map file, so that EXIF info is very important to me.
So if you have no use for the benefits of geotagging of images simply turn off the GPS. But if your not sure or prefer not to disable your GPS which also affects Maps, navigation and Wikicamps etc, the programs below are very simple programs to use, and they do batch processing of blocks of images.
Android EXIF Eraser
EXIF Eraser removes the EXIF data right on the phone, and is a free App
iPhone Metapho
Windows and IOS EXIF Purge
EXIF Purge is a portable non installing program that will create copies of your pics before it removes the EXIF data from the copy images
Windows Easy EXIF Delete
Easy EXIF Delete will remove the EXIF data from the pics selected and makes no copies, so be careful to use only on copies of the pics and not the originals or that data will be lost forever
