Exif data (GPS related) stripped?

[abudhabikid]

Project Name (if applicable, otherwise just type n/a)

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Question

Context: iOS v18.5, location sharing is on for photos app and epicollect5

Pic 1 (taken with Photos app) has all possible GPS related tags

Pic 2 (downloaded from epicollect5 project data server) has no GPS related tags

I’m hoping to allow users to get bearing out of the pictures they take for my projects. Ideally, taking a bearing could be a form question option, but not as far as I can tell.

So is the mismatch in metadata something I’m doing wrong? A bug that android users don’t deal with?

I know third party apps can have access to the compass sensor suite, so that should be the issue.

Thanks!

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[Epicollect5]

See related threads

Uploading photos removes or keeps geotag?

Project Name (if applicable, otherwise just type n/a) n/a Question I have been working on a way of processing the samples collected in the field, and for now I have a solution which is probably not the best, because when I upload pictures taken with my phone to an epicollect form, the gps data are removed. Everything else is kept, but I don’t know why the gps is removed. So to recover it I have to take the gps from the original files in my phone with a solution that is not very elegant… I thou…

Photos file names changed during upload

Below is the API URL to a public photo uploaded to our EC5 Demo Project: Photo When we save this photo locally using Chrome and check it against a tool like Jimpl, we receive the metadata correctly. [Screenshot 2025-01-30 at 15.25.21] Or you can analyse the API URL directly using exifinfo

TDLR:

The presence of Exif data after uploading a photo can vary depending on the device and operating system.
In this case, it’s likely that iOS 18.5 is automatically stripping Exif metadata during the upload process.
This behaviour aligns with Apple’s ongoing emphasis on user privacy, where sensitive metadata — such as location, device information, and camera settings — is often removed before sharing or uploading photos, especially through system-level APIs or certain apps.

Notes:

The heading (bearing) value provided by mobile devices is often inconsistent or unavailable, especially when the device is stationary or sensor data is restricted. For this reason, Epicollect5 does not include heading in the recorded location data. Only latitude, longitude, and accuracy are reliably captured to ensure consistent and accurate results across all devices.

• heading is only available when the device is actively moving and has appropriate sensors.
• Most browsers and mobile platforms may return null for heading in static conditions.
• Privacy settings, sensor limitations, and platform restrictions can prevent heading data from being provided at all.

More info

FAQ | Epicollect5 User Guide

[abudhabikid]

Some good points. Thanks for the reply!

However, couldn’t a ‘bearing’ form question exist but display a caveat to the form creator?

Whether or not the bearing exif data is accurate enough or purposes should be up to the user, no?

[Epicollect5]

Regrettably, the functionality you’re inquiring about is presently unavailable in Epicollect5.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.