Protest photos and videos on iPhone: location and copies

Turn off the location of a protest photo before you share it. Apple says each photo and video stores where it was taken, and the people you share it with may learn that. Vault9 does not remove location. This page is about privacy and is not legal advice.

Share without location

1. Open the photo in Photos.
2. Tap the share button, then tap Options.
3. Turn off Location. The label “Location Not Included” appears above Options.
4. Share.

Leave All Photos Data off. It sends the original file with its edit history and metadata, and Apple says it works with AirDrop only.

For a photo you already have, open it from Albums, tap the More button, then Adjust Info, Adjust Location, No Location.

The picture can give people away too. Faces, signs and street corners all show up. Look at the frame before you send it.

Stop new photos from saving location

Go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, Camera, and tap Never. Apple says the Camera app adds location only when Location Services allows it.

Footage from the Vault9 camera holds no location. It goes into the vault and is not written to Photos. More in the Vault9 camera.

Move the originals out of Photos

Do this after you have shared what you want to share.

1. Create your vault. You can add photos at once. The app asks you to make your Emergency Kit later, from the Gallery.
2. Import the photos and videos from Photos.
3. Open each one in the vault.
4. Delete the originals from Photos yourself.
5. Delete them again in Recently Deleted. Photos keeps deleted items for 30 days.

One trap: an import keeps its location. Vault9 stores each file exactly as iOS gives it to the app, encrypted, and an export returns the same file.

Then look for other copies. With iCloud Photos on, a delete on one device deletes the photo on the others. Photos that people send you in Messages can be saved to your library on their own. The setting is under Shared with You in the Messages settings.

What Vault9 cannot do for you

• It does not protect an open vault on an unlocked phone. Someone who makes you unlock it can look inside.
• It has no decoy vault, no duress mode and no fake PIN. A wrong pattern shows an error.
• It does not guard against malware on the phone.

If you face a search, an arrest or legal action, talk to a lawyer in your country. An app cannot decide that for you.

Sources

• Apple Support: Manage location metadata in Photos (checked 2026-11-06)
• Apple Support: Share photos and videos on iPhone (checked 2026-11-06)
• Apple Support: Set up and use iCloud Photos (checked 2026-11-06)