How to make sure your Android photos don’t reveal locations

Most smartphones can pinpoint the current location using GPS or other means. On Android, this feature can be turned on or off depending on the default preference to either allow or block it.

Some applications require location services for some or all of its features. This is for instance the case for Foursquare or Google Maps.

While handy at times, it is disliked by some users because of its drain on the battery and privacy implications.

To find out whether location services are enabled or not, swipe down from the notification bar at the top on your Android phone and tap on the quick settings button at the top right.

This displays options to turn important features such as WiFi, Bluetooth or Location services on or off.

The first requirement that needs to be met to add location information to photos taken on Android is that location services are enabled on the device.

You can check whether that is the case by opening the menu as outlined above.

Even if location services are enabled, it does not necessarily mean that location information are added to photos you take on the device as the feature needs to be enabled in the photo app as well before that is the case.

You can do that by opening the photo app on the device and opening the options of it. How that is done depends on the app and device you are using. On my Moto G, you swipe from the left to the right to display the photo settings while you may find a menu button displayed there at all time on other devices.

Find the location setting there and check whether it is enabled or not. If it is turned off and if your device's location settings are turned off, you are reminded that you need to enable it first before you can enable the feature in the photo app.

If it is enabled, you can turn it on or off here right away.

This means that if you turn off the location feature of your phone or tablet, that geo-tagging will automatically be disabled on it regardless of the setting in the photo application itself.

Side Tip: To check whether individual files are geo-tagged, open the photo on your Android device in the photos app, click on the menu button and there on details to display whether that is the case.

As you can see on the screenshot above, the photo reveals the location where it was taken. Once you disable geo-tagging either in the photo app or the location feature completely, all future photos that you take won't reveal it anymore.