Do I need to remove metadata from pictures before uploading?

Butter_My_Buttcheeks@lemmy.fmhy.ml to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 163 points –

Title. I'm not the best with privacy... But wanted to upload a picture of my pupper. Thanks!

69

Exif data is stripped when uploading to Lemmy.

But you never know (unless you run your own instance) if your instance has been modified to record it somewhere before it is removed.

But it is an open source project and the developers views are strongly in favor of privacy, so yeah you can self host it or check the source code. But I think it's safe to assume they didn't program it like that.

Note that people who host an instance can theoretically change it, but still I wouldn't worry it'll actually happen.

Instance admins are pulling the code down and implementing it in their server. They could easily slip in some malicious backend code and there would be no way to verify it.

Of course, I said that too. And unless you self host yourself you have to trust the instance you're using. But the question itself was more about lemmy in general, and most people just deploy the docker image or something.

Also, I don't believe that, assuming an average person host an instance, the host will want some random people metadata from photos. It's not big corps that process every bit of data they get.

Which is good to be aware of, but I don't think they'd want your image exif data.

Rule #1 in internet privacy: don't assume best intentions of anyone. Just because it is open source does not mean whoever hosts the instance didn't modify the source.

But it is an open source project and the developers views are strongly in favor of privacy, so yeah you can self host it or check the source code. But I think it's safe to assume they didn't program it like that.

Note that people who host an instance theoretically change it, but still I wouldn't worry it'll actually happen.

Depends on how much you trust your instance admins.

Isn't this comment deleted for you too? (I replied twice by mistake)

Anyway, yeah I completely agree. But as I replayed to a user at my other reply:

I don’t believe that, assuming an average person host an instance, the host will want some random people metadata from photos. It’s not big corps that process every bit of data they get.

No, it's not deleted for me. I had the same problem as you. I replied twice, immediately deleted one, then had people responding to both and telling me that I replied twice.

It's really scary that deleting comments doesn't work 100% of the time. And it's ironic, given the topic of this discussion is privacy. Not being able to guarantee that your comments can be deleted 100% is a huge privacy concern. It might even be illegal in Europe, but idk.

The deleted comments don't get deleted too tho. The last edit is saved on the server anyways, so if you really want to delete something, edit it first and then delete it.

Since then, I have been editing my comments several times to different variants of the word "Deleted". Sometimes, I do brackets, sometimes I do Italics.

How about Imgur?

Yes, big platforms have stripped this for years. It is in their best interest to do so.

Well... Ever since I left reddit I'm not just lurking around. I feel compelled to participate as a fuck you to reddit. Didn't know they did that

@ted

@Butter_My_Buttcheeks anybody know about kbin?

Look at who you responded to. It's one of the usernames you pinged. Just saying 🙂

I think that's a kbin thing, where any time you reply to a comment, your comment includes an @ to that comment's author. I think the only one they intended to "ping" was butterface

Not a kbin thing… might be an extension though. I’m on kbin and no automatic mention was added to the top of this comment when I replied to you.

It's a setting (default off) called Add mention tags in entries under the "Writing" subsection.

Weird, I didn’t change that setting but I’m pinging everyone. I thought it was a kbin default.

The option below the one I listed is for when you comment on "microblog" stuff. That one is default on.

I went to settings and turned it all off. Didn't see that there the last time I tweaked settings. Must be new! Kudos to ernest.

Oh, interesting! Thanks for pointing that out. Side note: entries… I hope kbin adopts better language for what to call Reddit-like posts (articles), Twitter-like microblog posts (posts), and comments (entries?). I never would have guessed entries == comments. Maybe this is ActivityPub-specific naming? It reminds me of a past job where we surfaced internal technical names as the names of products and features… it just confused customers.

Yes, there needs to be a glossary somewhere to get people up to speed, or some kind of on-boarding process. It's also plausible that some of the naming conventions are from translation weirdness, and, as you say, backend Activitypub naming conventions that frontend users don't normally see.

I made a magazine (aka a community, aka a sub[reddit]) specifically so I could play around with kbin to figure things out. Right now, trial and error is all we have, as I imagine all the devs are more busy with more technical issues than naming conventions.

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Great question, but also better to remove it yourself just for the peace of mind.

How do I remove Metadata from my pictures?

On windows, if you check the properties of the file, there’s a button to remove metadata.

On iPhone, if you go into your photos and drag a photo up, you can click “adjust” and remove or edit the location and time/date (it will still have camera data).

Yep, safest route is to be cautious and do it yourself if it is enough of a concern.

Just to be sure you should always remove information, you don't want on the internet, by yourself.

I always have most metadata storage disabled on my smartphone. Good way to prevent leaking of a location stored in images.

Follow-up question: how one removes the metadata from a picture or archive ?

Using tools like meta data cleaner from flathub and other tools have the feature built in. Also like with main social media it does it when uploaded

Take on step further and also disable capturing location from the camera app. But also additionally remove metadata before uploading.

BTW we are waiting for your pupper's picture OP.

So I tried uploading through Jerboa app... And it's giving me a java error exception. So now off to some other hosting site.

If sharing from iOS, you can chose to strip the information when sharing.

The language on the toggle however suggests the metadata is only shared when using AirDrop.

I'd disable attaching metadata to pictures in your phone setting in the first place, especially location.

It's a good idea for the sake of your privacy to remove the metadata from the picture. While for a picture of a pet it is less important, it's still a good idea to get in the habit of nixing the metadata. Don't make it easier for you to be tracked and profiled.

for a picture of a pet it is less important

What? That would likely give away the location of your home.

Why would it be less important for pet pics though? I think it would be more important because you probably take those pics at home and your home location might get leaked.