Which Image Hosts Keep Your GPS? We Tested 10
We uploaded a GPS-tagged photo to 10 free image hosts and read the files back. 7 kept the location. Full results, method and the test file to repeat it.
By Ahsan Khowaja · · 6 min read
Facts checked against official sources on
On this page
Seven of the 10 free image hosts we tested left the location readable. On 7 November 2026 we uploaded one GPS-tagged photo to each host without an account, downloaded the full-size file from its link, and read the metadata. Catbox, Freeimage.host, ImgHippo, Lightshot, Pasteboard, Pixhost and Uguu all returned a file identical to the upload, coordinates included. Imgbox, Snipboard and PictureToLink returned a re-encoded file with the GPS and camera data gone. PictureToLink is our own product, and it went through the same test. This is one test on one date, so treat it as a snapshot, and check your own file if the location matters.
Results
The test file was 31,877 bytes and carried fake camera details and the coordinates of the Eiffel Tower. "Full-size file" means the largest copy each host served for our upload.
| Host | GPS in full-size file | Camera data | File returned | Size in bytes | Direct link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catbox | Kept | Kept | Identical | 31,877 | Yes |
| Freeimage.host | Kept | Kept | Identical | 31,877 | Yes |
| ImgHippo (guest) | Kept | Kept | Identical | 31,877 | Yes |
| Lightshot (prnt.sc) | Kept | Kept | Identical | 31,877 | Yes, from the viewer page |
| Pasteboard | Kept | Kept | Identical | 31,877 | Yes, from the viewer page |
| Pixhost | Kept | Kept | Identical | 31,877 | Yes, from the show page |
| Uguu | Kept | Kept | Identical | 31,877 | Yes |
| Imgbox | Removed | Removed | Re-encoded | 32,916 | Yes |
| Snipboard | Removed | Removed | Re-encoded | 14,052 | Yes |
| PictureToLink (ours) | Removed | Removed | Re-encoded | 13,316 | Yes |
"Kept" here is not a partial result. All seven files had the same SHA-256 hash as the upload, so the hosts stored and served an exact copy. Anyone holding one of those links could save the file and read 48.85833, 2.29444, which is precise enough to point at a single building.
Details that change the picture
The copy you share matters. Freeimage.host's medium and thumbnail copies had no metadata, and the embed codes on its upload result page use those copies. The full-size file keeps the GPS, and its viewer page links to that file. The same viewer page also printed the camera make and model, though it listed no coordinates. Imgbox and Pixhost thumbnails had no EXIF either.
Pixhost has a switch. Its web form and API have an optional web optimisation setting that is off by default. We ran a second upload with it on: the file came back as an 11,014-byte WebP with no metadata.
Sizes can differ between fetches. Snipboard's file was 14,052 bytes on the first fetch. Later fetches of the same link returned 10,801 bytes, because its CDN (Cloudflare) served a further optimised copy. Neither had metadata.
Short retention limits the exposure but doesn't remove it. Uguu says files expire after 3 hours, and ImgHippo says guest uploads are deleted after 24 hours. The location stays readable until then, and anyone who already saved the file keeps it.
Keeping metadata is a legitimate design. Catbox says in its FAQ that files are exact copies and that it doesn't remove EXIF. If you want the original file preserved, that is the feature you are looking for. Removing metadata has a cost too: the three hosts that removed it also re-encoded the image, so the pixels changed slightly.
Popular hosts we did not test
Some of the best-known hosts are missing, and the reasons say nothing against them.
| Host | Why it's not in the table | What its own pages say (not measured by us) |
|---|---|---|
| Postimages | Its terms bar programmatic uploads, and an AI agent ran our test | "Anonymous uploads always keep their original EXIF data" (FAQ) |
| ImgBB | Its terms bar access by bots or scripts, for the same reason | We found no statement on EXIF |
| Imgur | Anonymous upload failed twice with an on-screen error (CREATE_ALBUM_FAIL), possibly specific to our network | Its help centre says EXIF is removed from all uploads |
| vgy.me | Refused the upload without an account | Not checked |
| Pixeldrain | No upload form shown when logged out | Not checked |
| Litterbox | Its firewall returned 403 to our browser, and we didn't try to get around it | Not checked |
| ImageBam | Connection reset from our network | Not checked |
| Abload | The service has shut down | Not applicable |
You can test any of these by hand in about a minute with the steps below.
How we tested
Anyone can repeat this, and we'd welcome corrections.
- Use the same file. Download our test photo. It is a generated 1,200 × 800 gradient with no real location or person in it. Its EXIF says make TestCamera, model GPS Test 1, software "picturetolink test", and GPS 48.858333 N, 2.294444 E. Its SHA-256 is
9a45eb17fc8572f64b2f233975e67207880d0e2f2a13ef38d9e0c4aa08862b92. - Upload it with the host's default settings and no account.
- Fetch the full-size file, not the page around it. If the host only gives you a viewer page, open it and save the image.
- Read the metadata. Our metadata viewer runs in your browser and doesn't upload anything. You can also use
exiftoolor compare the file's hash with the one above. - Delete the upload if the host lets you.
For our run, an AI agent working for us operated a normal Chrome window, not signed in to any host. The exceptions:
- Pixhost went through its documented public API, because its terms send automated uploads to supported endpoints. The API's defaults match the web form's.
- ImgHippo's direct link returned a Cloudflare block page to plain
curl. We left that alone and hashed the file in Chrome, where the link opened normally. The hash matched the upload.
We read files with the metadata reader in our own site code, the same one our viewer uses, and compared pixels with sharp. We skipped any host whose terms barred automated uploads and didn't bypass any CAPTCHA or bot check.
Afterwards we deleted what we could. PictureToLink, Pixhost, Pasteboard and Snipboard offered a way to do it. Pasteboard's viewer page went away at once, but its direct file was still being served from a CDN cache when we last checked that morning. Catbox charges $5 per file to remove anonymous uploads, and we saw no guest delete option on Freeimage.host or Lightshot, so those copies remain. Imgbox stopped responding from our network before we could delete ours. The file is harmless, which is why we used it.
What this does and doesn't prove
- It is one test of one small JPEG, per host, from one network in Pakistan, on one date. Hosts can change their handling at any time.
- It covers default settings without an account. Signed-in uploads, larger files and other formats such as PNG or HEIC may be treated differently.
- It shows only the public copy. A host that removes GPS from the file it serves may still have read or stored the original. We can't see that from outside, and that includes us: you have to rely on what our FAQ says.
- The file sizes describe this one gradient image. They say nothing about how much a real photo would shrink.
- It isn't a ranking. Metadata is one factor. Our comparison of free image hosts covers retention, limits and link types.
About PictureToLink's result
We run PictureToLink, so weigh our result accordingly and repeat the test if you doubt it. Removing metadata is a deliberate choice with trade-offs. We re-encode every upload and limit the longest side to 1,920 pixels, we don't keep the original file, and there are no accounts. If you need a host to keep your exact file or its EXIF, one of the hosts above that returns an identical copy will suit you better.
What to do before you upload
Phone photos often carry coordinates, as our guide to what EXIF data is explains. Don't count on any host to remove them. Run the photo through the EXIF remover first and share the clean copy. It works on JPG, PNG and WebP files in your browser. If you have already uploaded a photo, save a copy back from your own link and check that, because it is the file other people get.
If a host's behaviour has changed since our test date, tell us and we'll re-test and correct the table.