How to remove location from photos on Android

October 20, 2026

To remove location from photos on Android, do two things. Turn off location tagging in your camera app so new photos carry no GPS data, then clear the location from photos you already have. The second part depends on your phone, because some apps cannot remove a location the camera wrote.

1. Stop it at the source

Every Android camera has a switch for this. The name differs by brand. Google lists them on one page. (Google Photos Help: change your camera location settings)

Pixel: open the Camera app’s settings and turn off Save location.
Samsung Galaxy: open Camera, tap the gear icon, and turn off Location tags. (Samsung: Location tags)
Other brands: look for a toggle called “Store location data”, “Geo-tag photos” or similar in the camera settings.

This only affects photos taken from now on. Photos already on the phone keep their location. One side effect: photos without a location will not show up in map view or location searches in Google Photos.

2. Remove it from photos you already have

Samsung Gallery

Open the photo, tap the three dots, choose Details, then Edit. Tap the red minus icon next to the location and tap Save. (Samsung: Use the Gallery app)

Samsung adds that menus vary by model and software version. Do this before you share the photo, and open Details again afterwards to check the location is gone.

Google Photos

Open the photo, tap More, then Edit, then Remove location. To do several at once, select them, tap More, then Edit location.

There is a catch. Google says you can only change or remove estimated locations and locations you added yourself. If the camera wrote the location when you took the photo, you cannot update or remove it in Google Photos. (Google Photos Help: edit your photos’ locations)

So for ordinary camera photos, Google Photos is the wrong tool. Use your phone’s gallery app, or turn off tagging and retake.

Google Photos does not include location when you share by default. Albums, links and conversations leave it out unless you choose to include it, and estimated locations are never sent. Even so, people may guess a place from landmarks in the picture. (Google Photos Help: how Photos protects your location data)

Samsung has a per-share option in some regions. Select photos in Gallery, tap Share, and tick Remove Location data before choosing an app. Samsung’s guide for this is written for New Zealand devices on One UI 3.0 or later, so it may not appear on yours. (Samsung: removing location data when sharing)

Whether a chat or social app strips location from a photo you send is a question for that app. Search its help pages. Do not assume it does. The safe habit is to clear the location from the file first, then send it.

Photos you want kept private

Removing location hides where a photo was taken, not the photo itself. If the picture is private, see how to hide photos on Android. VaultIt encrypts photos on the device behind a drawn pattern, and uninstalling it or clearing its data deletes the vault, so keep a backup off the phone.

Sources

Quick answers

How do I stop my Android phone adding location to photos? Turn off the location toggle in the camera settings: Save location on Pixel, Location tags on Samsung.

Does turning it off remove location from old photos? No. It only affects new photos. Remove old ones one by one in your gallery app.

Can Google Photos remove location from my photos? Only estimated or manually added locations. A location the camera saved cannot be removed there.

Does sharing a Google Photos link include my location? Not by default. Google says links and albums leave it out unless you choose to include it.