{
  "id": 16932149,
  "title": "GitHub keeps the GPS in photos you attach to issues",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/github-keeps-the-gps-in-photos-you-attach-to-issues",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-28T17:27:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/notaflightrisk/github-keeps-the-gps-in-photos-you-attach-to-issues-26p"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "GitHub retains GPS location data embedded in photos uploaded to issue reports. Bug reports in hardware projects often include such photos. Using GitHub's CLI, a JPEG with embedded GPS coordinates was attached to an issue. Subsequently, downloading the file resulted in identical byte-for-byte copies, preserving the original GPS metadata. This data persisted despite attempts to remove it from the issue. Of 12,011 uploaded files analyzed over two years, 556 JPEG photos still contained GPS data naming specific phone manufacturers. Out of these, 297 also provided location details, representing approximately one in six JPEGs. iPhones with iOS 10 or newer retain GPS information unless privacy settings are adjusted. Android devices with proper permissions also retain GPS data, though some phones blank out coordinates for non-permitted apps. GitLab automatically strips GPS data from JPEG and TIFF uploads, unlike GitHub. To remove GPS metadata from photos before uploading, ExifTool can be used to remove GPS information.",
  "summary": "There's a little genre of bug report on GitHub where someone notices an app doesn't strip location data from uploaded images. OpenSourcePOS has one that's been open since June 2024. It's filed on a site that doesn't strip it either. I made a JPEG this afternoon with a made-up iPhone and made-up coordinates (the Royal Observatory in Greenwich), attached it to an issue on my own repo with the…",
  "key_points": [
    "GitHub retains GPS metadata in photos attached to issue reports.",
    "556 out of 12,011 analyzed JPEGs still contained GPS data.",
    "iPhones and Android devices retain GPS information unless privacy settings are adjusted."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}