EXIF and Location Data in HEIC Photos: What Converting Keeps
By default our converter keeps no metadata. If you keep it (JPG only), location stays out unless you switch it on.
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What an iPhone photo can carry
Apple’s Personal Safety guide explains where the location in a photo comes from:
“When Location Services is turned on for the Camera app, it uses information known as metadata gathered from cellular, Wi-Fi, GPS networks, and Bluetooth to determine the location coordinates where the photo or video is taken. These coordinates are embedded into each photo and video so that you can later search for them in the Photos app based on the location they were taken.”
“When photos and videos that include location metadata are shared, the people you share them with may be able to access the location metadata and learn where it was taken.”
“Note: Sharing a photo or video includes sharing its associated metadata, such as date and time, location, device, and captions.”
The last sentence is from the iPhone User Guide for iOS 27.
What our converter does with metadata
- By default the converted file carries none of the photo’s EXIF metadata: no location, camera, date or settings. “Keep metadata (EXIF)” is off until you turn it on.
- “Keep metadata (EXIF)” works for JPG only. PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF and PDF files are saved without the photo’s EXIF. A PDF records only “heic-to.io” as the program that made it.
- With “Keep metadata (EXIF)” on, the location (GPS) is still left out unless you also turn on “Keep location”.
- When metadata is kept, the converter still drops the small preview image stored in it and the camera maker’s private notes (MakerNote), sets the orientation tag to normal, and writes the new width and height.
- Orientation never depends on a tag: the photo is turned the way the camera meant before it is saved.
- Your choices are remembered in this browser for next time, so check the Options summary (“metadata kept” or “metadata removed”) before you convert.
Remove location on the iPhone itself
Apple’s Personal Safety guide gives three ways: share without location, remove it from a photo, or stop recording it.
“Tap [the Share Sheet button], then tap Options. Turn off Location. Location Not Included is shown above the Options button.”
“Tap Adjust Info, tap Adjust Location, then tap No Location.”
“Location metadata in photos and videos can be collected only if your Camera app has access to Location Services.”
“Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Camera, then tap Never.”
One caution: the iOS 27 edition of the iPhone User Guide, which we also read, lists Keywords, the file format and All Photos Data under Options, but no Location switch. If your iPhone shows no Location switch there, remove the location from the photo first (Adjust Info, Adjust Location, No Location).
Sending the original with all its data
All Photos Data does the opposite of removing location: it sends everything. From the iPhone User Guide:
“Send all photo data: Turn on All Photos Data to share the original file with edit history and metadata; the recipient can view and modify the current version (available with AirDrop only).”
Remove location on a Mac
In Photos on a Mac, from Apple’s Personal Safety guide:
“Choose Image > Location, then choose Hide Location or Revert to Original Location.”
Why removing metadata is our default
Most places you send a converted photo, such as a form, a listing or a chat, have no need to know where it was taken. Keeping metadata is useful for your own archive: turn it on, choose JPG, and the date and camera details come along, with or without the location as you choose.
How we know
What this guide says about heic-to.io comes from the converter’s own source code as of , not from an outside source:
src/lib/client/convert/settings.svelte.ts: Defaults (metadata removed, location off), JPG-only metadata, and remembering your choices.src/lib/client/convert/exif.ts: What is copied when metadata is kept, and what is always dropped.src/lib/client/convert/decode.ts: Photos are rotated when decoded, so no orientation tag is needed.src/lib/client/convert/pack.ts: PDFs record only the producer, “heic-to.io”.
Sources
Official pages only. Each was read on the date shown and then read again independently before we used it.
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Open HEIC to JPG converterFrequently asked questions
Does converting HEIC to JPG remove the location?
On heic-to.io, yes by default: the JPG carries no EXIF at all. If you turn on “Keep metadata (EXIF)”, the location is still left out unless you also turn on “Keep location”.
Can I keep the date and camera details but not the location?
Yes. Choose JPG, turn on “Keep metadata (EXIF)”, and leave “Keep location” off.
Do PNG or WebP files from the converter keep EXIF?
No. Metadata can be kept for JPG output only; every other format is saved without the photo’s EXIF.
How do I stop my iPhone recording location in photos?
Apple’s steps: go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Camera, then tap Never.
Is my photo’s metadata sent anywhere when I convert?
No. The metadata is read and written in your browser, like the rest of the conversion. Your photo and its metadata are not sent anywhere. After a batch the page sends an anonymous count (formats, how many files succeeded or failed, total input size rounded to the nearest MiB; nothing with Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track on), and Cloudflare Web Analytics reports page-load timings. Our privacy proof page shows both.