Practical guide
Find GPS coordinates stored in a photo
A stored latitude needs its hemisphere reference and valid fractions before it becomes a usable coordinate. Read those pieces together, copy the result locally, and keep missing GPS separate from a failed conversion.
18 October 2026 · Check AI Free
Use an original JPEG, not a screenshot
The GPS viewer currently reads JPEG EXIF only, up to 20 MiB. A renamed PNG does not become a JPEG, and a screenshot cannot restore GPS fields that were not copied into it. If your input is PNG or WebP, the general metadata reader can show supported stored fields, but this dedicated GPS conversion does not yet support those containers.
Use your own authorized original, or the fictional GPS sample. The tool never requests a map, a geocoder or your browser's current position.
- Download the synthetic GPS JPEG — Project-authored 4 × 3 image and fictional stored fields, fixture v1. It is not a camera capture or a private person's photograph.
Read and copy the sample coordinates
Step 1
Load the known sample
Open the GPS EXIF viewer and click Try synthetic GPS. Alternatively, choose the downloaded gps.jpg. Both use the same project-authored fixture.
Step 2
Check the raw latitude and its reference
Under Raw GPS values, latitude is 33/1, 51/1, 31/1 and Latitude ref is S. The conversion is 33 + 51/60 + 31/3600, then a negative sign for south: -33.85861111111111 degrees.
Step 3
Read longitude separately
Longitude is 151/1, 12/1, 0/1 with reference W, giving -151.2 degrees. West is negative here. Do not remove the W reference or infer a country from the fictional coordinate.
Step 4
Copy coordinates or keep the raw report
Click Copy coordinates to copy the signed latitude and longitude. Download GPS JSON saves gps-exif-report.json with the raw typed values and reading status. Review the location before sharing either output. A clipboard denial has a visible message; the JSON download remains available.
Altitude, time and direction are separate fields
An absent altitude or GPS date stays unknown even when latitude and longitude are available. Stored GPS data can be edited; reading it does not certify the place, date or source of the image.
| Stored item | Expected output | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Altitude 25/2, reference 1 | -12.5 m | The reference means below sea level; the fraction alone is positive. |
| GPS date + UTC time | 2020:01:02 / 12:34:56 | Stored GPS UTC fields, not the browser's timezone or file modification time. |
| Image direction 123/2, reference T | 61.5° relative to true north | A stored direction claim, not a live compass reading. |
Try the two failure branches before using a real location
Step 1
Try no GPS
Click Try no GPS. The status says no GPS directory was found in the supported JPEG EXIF containers, and no coordinates are substituted. Camera EXIF may still exist. Other location storage, such as XMP, is outside this particular check.
Step 2
Try an invalid fraction
Click Try invalid rational. The latitude contains a zero denominator, so the reading is incomplete and latitude is unavailable. Longitude can still be shown as -151.2, but Copy coordinates is unavailable because the pair is incomplete. The tool does not turn a failed coordinate into 0,0.
Sources and reproducible inputs
- Download the synthetic GPS JPEG — Project-authored 4 × 3 image and fictional stored fields, fixture v1. It is not a camera capture or a private person's photograph.
Continue with your file
- Remove supported GPS from a JPEG — Rebuild the limited camera-field allowlist and inspect the effects.
- Verify a GPS-removed copy — Confirm absent GPS and retained camera fields separately.
- Inspect other stored private fields — A GPS-only check does not cover authors, paths or custom storage.