Very few people are aware of just how much information a photo on our cell phones or a camera can reveal about us. If these images are shared on social media or across other portals, certain undesirable details may be revealed in the metadata. Data security is both an important topic and a problem in relation to EXIF data.
For example, up until 2016, as much metadata as possible was removed from images after they were uploaded to Facebook in Germany to keep executable malware that could be contained in the metadata from infiltrating user devices and also to protect private data.
However, as of 2016, a court judgment has ruled that Facebook is required to leave the metadata contained in users’ photos unchanged after being uploaded in order to allow the authenticity of images to be determined. Since most smartphones and digital cameras are equipped with GPS functions and some images include a geotag (a location tag) and IP address, users should consider whether they wish to publish their personal metadata on the World Wide Web.
Users who prefer not to share these details should use one of the EXIF tools to erase image information.