The picture is not the file
A photograph is a picture plus a pile of notes: when it was taken, on what camera, sometimes exactly where you were standing, and any comment anyone chose to type in.
The picture shows a field. The file knows the field’s position to a few metres.
Which makes it a good hiding place: a comment field will hold a whole message, it survives being emailed, and nobody looks. It is also the most common way people are accidentally found, which is the same fact wearing a different hat.
Worth knowing before you post anything
This is the one page in this section with a practical warning attached. If you take a photograph on a phone and send it to a stranger, the file may be telling them where you took it. Most big websites strip that out when you upload; a file sent directly usually keeps it.
You can look for yourself: on a computer, open a photo’s properties or details. Everything this page shows is in there.
Back to HIPS Hidden pixelsWhere it comes from
A photograph is a picture plus a pile of notes: the camera, the moment, the settings, often the exact place. People have been found because of it, and files have been traced because of it, and almost nobody who takes a photograph has ever read one. It is the best hiding place on this list and the most common accident.
Try it away from the screen
On a computer, right-click a photograph you took and open its details or properties. Look for the date, the camera, and whether there is a location. Then decide what you think about sending it to a stranger.