Sharing
Which apps strip metadata, and which do not
There is one rule underneath all the individual answers. A service that re-encodes a picture to display it throws the metadata away in the process. A service that moves a file from one place to another keeps everything in it. Most confusion comes from apps that do both, depending on which button you press.
Services that usually strip it
- Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Uploaded photos are re-encoded and served without camera or location tags. The platform reads the original first, including the location, and uses it.
- X. Same pattern. The served image is stripped.
- WhatsApp, sent as a photo. Compressed and stripped. Sent as a document, the file arrives exactly as it left, tags included.
- Telegram, sent compressed. Stripped. Sent as a file, kept.
- Signal. Strips metadata from images before sending.
- Most forums and marketplaces. Anything that generates a thumbnail usually strips the full-size copy as well, but not always. Check.
Services that keep it
- Email attachments. The file arrives byte for byte. Location, serial number, author, everything.
- Cloud links. A shared folder or link on any cloud drive serves the original file.
- AirDrop and nearby sharing. The original, unless you turn off location in the share options before sending.
- iMessage. Photos sent between phones keep their tags, including location, unless the location toggle in the share sheet is turned off.
- Any "send original" or "full quality" option. That is what the option means.
- Documents. A PDF or a Word file is never re-encoded by anything. Its properties go everywhere it goes.
The part stripping does not fix
When a platform strips metadata, it does so after reading it. The location, the device and the time are used before they are discarded. Stripping protects you from other users. It does not protect you from the service. If that matters, the only order that works is clean first, then upload.
AI tags are treated differently
Several platforms now keep and act on provenance tags even while stripping camera tags. A C2PA manifest or an IPTC digital source field is what triggers the automatic AI label. The Made with AI label guide explains what is read and what removing it changes.
How to find out for yourself
Guesswork is unnecessary. Send a photo through the service in question, download or save what arrives, and drop it into the Metadata tab. What is left is what that service passes on. Do it once per app and you know. The answer can change when an app updates, so a photo that matters is worth checking again.
And for anything that leaves as a file, clean it first on the Images, Video, Audio or Files tab. It takes a few seconds and removes the question.
Common questions
Does WhatsApp remove EXIF data from photos?
Sent as a photo, yes: the image is compressed and the tags are dropped. Sent as a document, the file arrives unchanged with location and everything else still in it.
Does email remove metadata from attachments?
No. An attachment arrives exactly as it was sent. Clean the file before you attach it.
Does Instagram keep the location of my photos?
The served image has no location tag, but Instagram reads the original before stripping it. Cleaning the photo before upload is the only way to keep the location from the platform.