Remove EXIF on iPhone and Android

Technical guide for mobile devices.

[SYSTEM_COMMAND] THREAT_REPORT — GPS POST-MORTEM PERSISTENCE

EXIF / XMP / IPTC

EXIF metadata isn't limited to raw GPS. On Android/iOS, XMP dictionaries and OffsetTime fields survive superficial deletions. Residual GPS tags can be recovered via forensics. The threat: spatio-temporal cross-referencing via metadata dictionaries.

// FORENSICS RESIDUE (REAL CASE)

> GPSLatitudeRef: 48°51'23.4"N
GPSLongitudeRef: 2°17'42.1"E
MakerNote (Apple): 12 unerased chunks

[SYSTEM_COMMAND] MOBILE_OS_LIMITS — THE NATIVE DECEPTION

Apple 'Hide Location': only removes main tags. But keeps: GPSImgDirection, GPSTimeStamp, and XMP:GPSAltitude.

Google Photos 'Remove Locations': cloud operation. The local file keeps APP1 and APP13 markers.

Native iOS Command

/usr/bin/ImageIO -removeProperty kCGImagePropertyGPS

⚠️ Ignores XMP, JFIF, TIFF-EP.

Systematic Residue

EXIF:OffsetTimeOriginal + XMP:CreateDate

Location to ±200km via timezone.

DANGER: JSON sidecar

Google Photos creates associated .json files containing precise GPS coordinates. Location removal doesn't erase these sidecars.

[SYSTEM_COMMAND] GHOSTMETA_SUPERIORITY — TOTAL NEUTRALIZATION

GhostMeta operates by canvas pixel reconstruction — the image is fully re-encoded through the browser's Canvas API, overwriting residual data in thumbnails and non-standard fields. Forensics tools (exiftool) only find null blocks.