Method 1: Photo Find (navigation)
Use this if you want to walk back to the spot. Photo Find reads the GPS data inside a photo and turns it into a compass arrow pointing at the place, with the live distance counting down.
- Open Photo Find on your iPhone.
- Paste a photo from the clipboard, pick one from your library, or share into the app from Photos, Messages, or Mail.
- If the photo has GPS data, you will see a compass arrow and a distance.
- Walk in the direction the arrow points. The distance counts down as you approach.
This works for any photo with location data: photos you took with the iPhone Camera, photos sent over iMessage, photos shared by AirDrop, photos pasted from the clipboard.
Method 2: the Photos app (map view)
Use this if you just want to see where a photo was taken on a map.
- Open the photo in the Photos app.
- Swipe up on the photo (or tap the info icon).
- Look for the map preview labeled with a place name. Tap it to open the location in Maps.
- If you see “No Location” instead of a map, the photo does not have GPS data inside it.
The Photos app does not show your current location relative to the photo’s location. It is a passive map. For active navigation, Method 1 is what you want.
Method 3: EXIF viewer (raw coordinates)
Use this if you need the actual latitude and longitude numbers. Photographers, researchers, and developers sometimes want the raw EXIF data.
- Download an EXIF viewer from the App Store. Several solid free ones exist.
- Open the photo in the viewer.
- Look for the GPSLatitude and GPSLongitude fields. You may also see altitude, direction the camera was facing, and the date and time.
When the photo has no GPS data
Several things can strip GPS from a photo:
- The photo was taken with Location Services turned off for the Camera app.
- It came from social media (Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok strip metadata on upload).
- It is a screenshot. iOS does not embed GPS in screenshots.
- It was sent through an email that resized the image.
For those cases, you may need an AI photo-location tool that guesses the location from visible landmarks in the image itself. See where was this photo taken for both paths.
How to make sure your future photos have GPS
- Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services. Make sure Location Services is on.
- Scroll to Camera. Set it to “While Using” or “Always.”
- Turn on Precise Location. Approximate Location gives a much wider, less useful coordinate.
Now every photo you take will carry the spot with it.
Photo Find is free on the App Store. No ads. No account. No tracking.