That Selfie Can Reveal Where You Are, What Phone You Have. Here's How to Stop The Data Tracking

GREENSBORO, N.C. — We all use our phone's cameras, but those pictures carry a lot more information than you may think. It's called EXIF data. It records a staggering amount of information. Things like the date, time, and location of the picture are recorded. It even records the type of phone it was taken with.

Now that sounds really creepy if you're imagining someone looking at that selfie you posted online. But that data could be really valuable if you have a car accident or need to prove the exact time and date something happened.

If you want your phone to stop logging EXIF data follow these steps: 

For iPhone: 

1. Go to settings
2. Then to the privacy tab
3. Location Services 
4. And then tap "camera" and "never."

For  Android: 

1. Settings 
2. Lock Screen & Security 
3. Open "Location"
4. "App-Level Permissions" 
5. Toggle off "Camera" 

You can remove some of that data on your computer.

For Windows: 

1. Right-click the file
2. Select "properties"
3. Check the "Details" tab
4. Click "Remove properties and personal information" 

For Mac: 

1. Open a photo in "preview"
2. Select "Show Inspector" under the "tools" menu
3. If it has Exif data there will be a tab with that name. 
4. Location data will be in its own tab called "GPS" 
5. Hit "Remove location info" to delete the details