GPS Location Extractor & Map Viewer

GPS data in photos consists of geographic coordinates automatically embedded by cameras and smartphones when location services are enabled. This metadata is stored in the EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) section and includes:

• Latitude: North-south position ranging from -90° (South Pole) to +90° (North Pole)
• Longitude: East-west position ranging from -180° to +180° relative to Prime Meridian
• Altitude: Height above sea level in meters (when available)
• GPS timestamp: Exact time when location was recorded by satellites
• Direction: Compass bearing showing camera orientation when photo taken

Modern smartphones automatically connect to GPS satellites to determine precise location coordinates, typically accurate within 5-10 meters. These coordinates are embedded in photo metadata the moment you press the shutter button, creating a permanent record of where each image was captured.

Scanly.co provides a professional GPS extraction tool that works entirely in your web browser without requiring desktop software, apps, or technical expertise. The extraction process is streamlined:

1. Upload your photo by dragging and dropping or clicking to browse files
2. Support for JPG, PNG, TIFF, HEIC, and WebP formats up to 50MB per file
3. Automatic EXIF parsing extracts GPS coordinates in under 2 seconds
4. Interactive Leaflet map displays exact photo location with red marker
5. View latitude, longitude, altitude in decimal degree format
6. Reverse geocoding converts coordinates to readable addresses
7. One-click export to Google Maps or copy coordinates to clipboard

The tool processes GPS data entirely in your browser when possible, ensuring maximum privacy and instant results without server-side processing delays.

GPS coordinates embedded in photo metadata create significant privacy and security vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious actors. The primary risks include:

Always extract and verify GPS data before sharing photos publicly. Use our tool to check location metadata and remove coordinates when privacy protection is needed.

GPS accuracy in photos depends on multiple factors including device quality, satellite visibility, environmental conditions, and positioning technology used. Typical accuracy ranges:

Factors affecting GPS accuracy:

• Number of satellites visible (minimum 4 required, 8+ provides best accuracy)
• Atmospheric conditions and weather (clouds and rain degrade signal quality)
• Building and terrain obstruction (urban canyons and mountains block signals)
• Device GPS chip quality and antenna design variations
• Assisted GPS (A-GPS) using cellular networks improves acquisition speed

Even with 10-meter accuracy, GPS coordinates still reveal precise enough location to identify specific buildings, homes, or small areas, making privacy protection essential before sharing photos publicly.

Disable location tagging in your camera app settings to prevent GPS coordinates from being embedded in photos at capture time. This provides the highest level of privacy protection without requiring post-processing metadata removal:

Reverse geocoding is the process of converting numeric GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) into human-readable addresses, place names, cities, and countries. Our GPS extraction tool uses this technology to provide context for photo locations:

Typical reverse geocoding results include:

• Street address (when available at coordinate precision)
• Neighborhood or district names
• City, town, or municipality
• State, province, or region
• Country and postal codes
• Points of interest (parks, landmarks, buildings)

Reverse geocoding accuracy depends on database coverage quality. Urban areas typically have precise street-level data, while rural or remote locations may only resolve to general regions or nearest towns.

Most major social media platforms strip GPS coordinates and some camera metadata during upload, but their policies vary significantly and cannot be relied upon for privacy protection. Platform behavior changes without notice and smaller sites often preserve all metadata:

GPS metadata extraction serves legitimate professional purposes across numerous industries beyond privacy concerns. Understanding beneficial use cases helps maximize location data value while maintaining appropriate security:

These professional applications demonstrate that GPS metadata provides significant value when used responsibly with appropriate privacy safeguards and informed consent.

Currently, Scanly.co GPS extraction tool processes photos individually to provide detailed interactive map visualization and reverse geocoding for each image. For batch GPS extraction from multiple photos simultaneously, consider these workflow options:

Future feature consideration: We're evaluating batch upload functionality with CSV/KML export for users who need to extract GPS data from entire photo collections for creating comprehensive travel maps or location databases.

Interested in batch processing? Contact our team to discuss your specific requirements for multi-photo GPS extraction, coordinate export formats, and potential API integration for automated workflows.