Remove hidden metadata from photos
Photos taken on a phone usually carry the exact coordinates where they were taken, the device serial number and a timestamp. WordPress does not remove any of it on upload, so a published photo can quietly disclose a home address.
Common questions
Does WordPress strip EXIF automatically?
Not from the original file. WordPress generates resized versions that usually lose most metadata, but the full-size original you uploaded keeps everything — and that is the file linked from the media library.
What is actually in EXIF?
Typically GPS coordinates, the date and time, camera make, model and serial number, lens, and exposure settings. On phones the location is accurate to a few metres.
How does stripping work here?
The image is decoded to raw pixels and re-encoded from scratch. Metadata is not copied across because it never enters the canvas, so nothing is left behind to recover.