Labs · 🟢 Local sample verified · 1 November 2026 · Viewer and cleaner compared
WhatsApp image lab: what did the local JPEG contain before any send?
Before a WhatsApp photo, HD send, or document send, is GPS still in the JPEG, and does a local clean remove it?
The local JPEG lost its GPS and camera fields after the clean. WhatsApp photo, HD, and document remain different sends. A 2 GB document limit is not an EXIF result. Clean the copy in this browser before sending. The file stays on this device and is not uploaded to this site.
Help text gives a 2 GB ceiling for a document and says photos sent as photos are compressed. It does not publish one GPS rule for all three buttons.
Short answer
Direct answer: the local JPEG’s GPS and camera fields were gone after the clean. Photo, HD, and document remain different sends.
- What was measured: The viewer read GPS and camera-style fields. The cleaner copy did not have them.
- What that does not prove: A document’s larger size limit is not evidence about EXIF. No WhatsApp upload was run. Read the file someone saves if you need that copy’s facts.
- What you can do first: Clean the copy in this browser before the file leaves the device. Nothing is uploaded to this site.
🟢 Local sample verified · 1 November 2026 · Viewer and cleaner compared
Check a file on this device
This checks one file. It is not a dated CreatorPrivacyKit test of WhatsApp Standard, HD, or document sends. Local sample measured on 2026-11-01.
- Keep the original file. Inspect it locally in the Image Metadata Viewer.
- Clean a separate copy with the Metadata Cleaner. Leave the original unchanged.
- Reinspect that cleaned or downloaded copy in the same viewer.
JPEG, PNG, and WebP can be read. HEIC and other unsupported formats, and any failed read, are not a passing result.
No GPS detected does not prove the photo is safe. Visual clues and unparsed information can remain. The cleaner covers only the formats and metadata it supports. It does not promise that every hidden watermark is removed.
Processing stays in the browser. The photo is not uploaded.
- Published
- Last updated
- Last tested
What we measured
Sample dated 2026-11-01. The viewer read location and camera fields. The cleaned file no longer has them. The file stayed on this device.
| Field | Local sample (viewer) | Cleaned copy (cleaner) |
|---|---|---|
| GPS / location | 35 deg 0' 0.00" N, 135 deg 0' 0.00" E | No GPS |
| EXIF | EXIF present (camera make, model, and settings) | EXIF fields cleared |
| Camera information | Camera make and model present | Camera make and model removed |
| Timestamps | 2026:11:01 18:00:00 | Capture time removed |
| Provenance / C2PA | JUMBF APP11 and a C2PA container | No C2PA or JUMBF container |
| Recompression / resize | 378,066 bytes, with location and the metadata above | 361,097 bytes; metadata removed, image scans unchanged |
GPS / location
The viewer read 35 deg 0' 0.00" N, 135 deg 0' 0.00" E. The cleaned file had no GPS.
EXIF
The viewer read a camera make, a model, and the capture time 2026:11:01 18:00:00. The cleaned file had no EXIF.
Test environment
Chrome 156.0.8078.47 and ExifTool 12.76. The file stayed on this device. Nothing was uploaded.
How to test your own file
- Use one JPEG with known GPS.
- Send Standard, HD, and as a document if the client allows it.
- Download each result.
- Compare hash, dimensions, and EXIF.
- Record the official quality labels shown in the UI.
Methodology
Every published result has to follow the same protocol: a known source file, a recorded hash, a specific upload path, and a downloaded copy. Folklore does not count.
Privacy implications
If GPS or camera identity should not leave the phone, strip the file before any of the three buttons. HD is about appearance, not a metadata promise.