ChIkEn NuGrEt
Well-Known Member
Hey I just wanted to know if people are able to find personal information from images that I upload.
Are There Any Security Risks From Uploading Media
- Thread starter ChIkEn NuGrEt
- Start date
Most digital cameras, including smartphones, add data such as the date and time of the photo and the location (GPS position). So people could work out where and when you took the photo. I guess if you weren't meant to be there at that time this could be an issue but otherwise so what?
You can turn off this feature on your camera or you can strip this data from your photo before posting it. Actually this can be an issue for wildlife conservation. Rhino poachers, for instance, have been known to use tourist photos to track rhinos.
You can turn off this feature on your camera or you can strip this data from your photo before posting it. Actually this can be an issue for wildlife conservation. Rhino poachers, for instance, have been known to use tourist photos to track rhinos.
ChIkEn NuGrEt
Well-Known Member
Not unless you added it. I guess if you said something like "I took this photo from my bedroom window" that would give it away.
ChIkEn NuGrEt
Well-Known Member
I imagine if you accidentally uploaded a photograph of your birth certificate they could; otherwise no, you have nothing to worry about.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
The fringe / fanatical elements of the animal rights activists would like PETA...Be careful ChIKEn Nugret they are out there and they are angry
Just joking
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As others have said, no there is no worry in this case. However you are wise to be careful online. I am amazed at how many people make their personal Facebook profile public (for anyone to see) and post things like their exact birthdate. That is just asking for someone to steal your identity.
ChIkEn NuGrEt
Well-Known Member
Is it okay if one of the photos I post has a person in the background? You can’t see their face but in certain instances cropping them out would cut out a few of the animals.
We generally deal with photographs where people are visible on a case-by-case basis depending on how clearly-identifiable they are, how much they intrude on the photo, whether they are the focus of the photo and so forth - but from the sound of it, if their face is not visible there's no harm in uploading the image 
worst that will happen is that we'll make the judgement call to remove it again.
worst that will happen is that we'll make the judgement call to remove it again.
ChIkEn NuGrEt
Well-Known Member
Okay I cropped most of them however there are a few that still have people in the background.We generally deal with photographs where people are visible on a case-by-case basis depending on how clearly-identifiable they are, how much they intrude on the photo, whether they are the focus of the photo and so forth - but from the sound of it, if their face is not visible there's no harm in uploading the image
Most personal information you give away yourself. Posting the same photo on your private website and on zoochat, for example. Mentioning where you live, what your dad does, that you went to a zoo on your birthday on a specific day etc.
Mobile photos normally carry date and time of making the picture, and information on the camera settings. If you allow it, they will also save GPS coordinates.
It is probably possible, although not easy, not 100% reliable and not commonly practiced, to identify which camera was used to take photos, from the pattern of weak/broken pixels, and then match e.g. to your photos on Facebook.
To keep your privacy: as a minimum, check if saving GPS coordinates is disabled on your camera. As a medium, before posting your picture, look into image properties and clear EXIF information (this would clear also GPS settings, if it is not switched off).
The last I am not 100% sure: if you are a privacy freak, probably open a photo editing program, like Adobe or GIMP, open a new picture, select all in your old picture, copy-paste to the new one, save with 2/3 of quality (e.g. 2500 pixels vs 4000 pixels). EXIF information would not carry when you copy-paste the pictuee itself, pixel weakness will become blurred after you change resolution. But I never do it.
Mobile photos normally carry date and time of making the picture, and information on the camera settings. If you allow it, they will also save GPS coordinates.
It is probably possible, although not easy, not 100% reliable and not commonly practiced, to identify which camera was used to take photos, from the pattern of weak/broken pixels, and then match e.g. to your photos on Facebook.
To keep your privacy: as a minimum, check if saving GPS coordinates is disabled on your camera. As a medium, before posting your picture, look into image properties and clear EXIF information (this would clear also GPS settings, if it is not switched off).
The last I am not 100% sure: if you are a privacy freak, probably open a photo editing program, like Adobe or GIMP, open a new picture, select all in your old picture, copy-paste to the new one, save with 2/3 of quality (e.g. 2500 pixels vs 4000 pixels). EXIF information would not carry when you copy-paste the pictuee itself, pixel weakness will become blurred after you change resolution. But I never do it.
Considering photos are posted in a gallery for the zoo in which they were taken, I don't think a viewer would need GPS information to figure out where it was taken.
ChIkEn NuGrEt
Well-Known Member
I posted some images of the Dallas Zoo on my media page if anyone wants to check them out.