Bug 257534

Summary:	Uploading photos on iOS strips Exif GPS location data
Product:	WebKit	Reporter:	Sam W <sam.webb>
Component:	Images	Assignee:	Nobody <webkit-unassigned>
Status:	RESOLVED CONFIGURATION CHANGED
Severity:	Normal	CC:	akeerthi, ap, bfulgham, richard_robinson2, sabouhallawa, webkit-bug-importer
Priority:	P2	Keywords:	InRadar
Version:	Safari 16
Hardware:	iPhone / iPad
OS:	iOS 16
See Also:	https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=207088 https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=263192

Description Sam W 2023-05-31 06:29:22 PDT

When uploading a photo via a file input on iOS 16.4, the GPS location data is being stripped from the Exif data.

Before iOS 16.4, this was preserved as long as the photo had been taken with the camera format set to Most Compatible. Since iOS 16.4, the GPS location data is removed regardless of whether the camera format is set to Most Compatible or High Efficiency.

I have also tested this on iOS 16.5, which shows the same behaviour as 16.4

There was a similar bug report earlier about Exif data being stripped more generally (https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=207088). However, the other Exif data is now kept intact - it is just the GPS location data that is now being removed.

Our use case is that we need to preserve this GPS location data in photos uploaded as part of evidence capture for UK Part L building regulations, but there would be other scenarios in which a user would want this data to remain intact.

If it has been removed for privacy reasons, perhaps it could check the existing per-website setting to allow access to location services and not strip the GPS location data if that has been allowed by the user.

Comment 1 Alexey Proskuryakov 2023-05-31 13:05:04 PDT

I agree that there are legitimate use cases for sharing location within photos, and it would be nice to support.

Personally, I don't think that a website having access to location is a sufficient signal that I'm also OK with sharing location info within my photos.

That can easily be a different location, and also a different audience would get access to the data (I may trust the website, but not each and every one of its users, for example).

Comment 2 Radar WebKit Bug Importer 2023-06-07 06:30:17 PDT

<rdar://problem/110390374>

Comment 3 Aditya Keerthi 2023-06-09 12:39:57 PDT

I can share that as of iOS 17, the photo picker contains a new "options" menu that gives the user control of whether or not location is shared.

See the following WWDC session for an example of the UI: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2023/10107/?time=688