Quick answer
In the Photos app, select the photo, tap the Share button, tap Options, and turn off Location. Apple says Location Not Included then shows above the Options button. Send the photo with one of the methods in the share sheet. This is a per-share setting. To remove the location from the stored photo itself, use Adjust Location (below).
Steps: send a photo without its location
- Open the Photos app (or Camera) and select the photo or photos you want to send.
- Tap the Share button.
- Tap Options.
- Turn off Location. Location Not Included appears above the Options button.
- Choose how to send it from the share sheet.
Apple's instructions do not single out AirDrop, Messages or Mail. The toggle lives in the share sheet, so it applies to whichever method you pick from that sheet. If you attach a photo some other way, for example from inside an app's own photo picker, these steps are not involved, so check the file with the tool above.
Remove the location from the photo itself
- Open the Photos app and tap Albums.
- Open the photo, then tap the More button.
- Tap Adjust Info, then Adjust Location.
- Tap No Location.
Stop Camera saving location
Apple says location metadata is only collected when Camera has access to Location Services. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Camera and tap Never. That stops it for photos you take from then on; photos already taken keep what they have.
HEIC or JPEG
By default the iPhone Camera saves HEIF (High Efficiency). If you choose Most Compatible under Settings > Camera > Formats, new photos are saved as JPEG. Apple's location steps above do not distinguish between the two formats. Apple also says that when you share HEIF photos by a method other than iCloud, they might automatically be sent in a more compatible format such as JPEG if the receiving device cannot use HEIF.
What this does not remove
- The Options toggle is labelled Location, and Apple's instructions only mention location. Do not assume date, time or device details are removed too.
- Anything visible in the picture: faces, street signs, shopfronts. Apple notes that people who receive a photo with location metadata may be able to learn where it was taken, but a recognisable background can tell them as well.
- Photos you already sent, and copies saved elsewhere.
- Whatever a website or app stores after you upload a photo. That is outside anything you can clean beforehand.
Check the result
Drop the photo you plan to send into the tool above. It runs in your browser and the file is never uploaded. It cuts the metadata out of JPG, PNG and WebP files without re-encoding, shows a before and after list of what the file held, then re-reads the cleaned file to show what is left. HEIC is re-saved as JPEG only if the browser can open it (Safari can); otherwise convert it first. Related guides: see what metadata a photo has and remove location from an Android photo.