The problem with photographing something at home
Most items are photographed where they live, which for a private seller means the flat or the house. The photo carries the coordinates of that spot, so anyone who downloads the image from the listing has the address without asking for it.
Marketplaces vary in whether they strip metadata on upload. Some do, some do not, and messaging a buyer the original file directly usually bypasses whatever the platform would have done.
What is usually in the background
Post, with a name and address on it. Keys. A window with a recognisable view. Photographs of family. A laptop screen. Other things worth stealing, and a fairly clear picture of the layout of the place they are in.
Cropping handles most of this faster than re-shooting, and anything left can be covered with a box.
A reasonable routine
Crop to the item, so the room mostly disappears. Cover anything identifying that is still in shot. Export, which removes the location and everything else written into the file.
It takes a few seconds per photo and it means the listing shows the item rather than the item plus your address.
Questions
- Do marketplaces remove photo metadata automatically?
- Some do. It varies by platform and it can change without notice, and it does not apply when you send a photo directly to a buyer in a chat or by email.
- Is the location really accurate enough to matter?
- Yes. Phone GPS is usually accurate to within a few metres, which identifies a building rather than an area.
- What about photos I have already posted?
- Cleaning the file now does not retrieve copies already downloaded. It is worth replacing the images on any listing that is still live.
- Does this cost anything?
- No. Every feature is free. Paying only removes a small watermark from the corner of your downloads.