Metadata management

When you take a photo (or movie), together with the picture data your camera stores a whole bunch of extra info called Exif (Exchangeable Image File) metadata. This includes stuff like the picture orientation, exposure time and focal length. It also includes information about the camera model, the time and, if the photographic device has a GPS unit (like a smartphone camera), the GPS coordinates too. Some devices even store their serial number, much to the chagrin of one movie pirate.

So you really ought to be careful about what you do with your photos, since this metadata betrays where and when you were. Obviously this isn’t a concern if you’re sharing photos with trusted viewers, since you’d probably