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How to View EXIF Data on a Mac (and Check for Location)
The quickest way to view EXIF data on a Mac is to open the photo in Preview and choose Tools > Show Inspector. To check for a location, choose Tools > Show Location Info. For the full list of tags, run exiftool photo.jpg in Terminal.
How do I see EXIF data in Preview?
- Open the photo in Preview.
- Choose Tools > Show Inspector.
- Look through the tabs in the Inspector for the general info and the EXIF details, such as camera, exposure and date.
Preview shows a readable subset, not every tag. If you need the complete list or want to search it, use the Terminal method below.
How do I check if a photo has a location?
In Preview open the photo and choose Tools > Show Location Info. Per Apple, the location appears as a pin on a world map in the GPS section, and Show in Maps opens a street map. If the menu item is grayed out, the image has no location data.
That is the fastest yes or no. A photo with GPS can be traced to a house or a school, so check before posting. If you find a location, our guide to removing GPS from photos on a Mac has the fix.
How do I view all EXIF data in Terminal?
Install exiftool (it is a free download), then:
exiftool photo.jpg
exiftool -gps:all photo.jpg
exiftool -Make -Model -DateTimeOriginal -GPSPosition photo.jpgThe first prints every tag. The second prints only the GPS group, which is empty if there is no location. The third picks fields. On our test JPEG, with tags we wrote ourselves, the last command returned:
Make : TestCam
Camera Model Name : T1
Date/Time Original : 2026:01:02 03:04:05
GPS Position : 48 deg 51' 30.24" N, 2 deg 17' 40.20" ETo list only files that contain GPS in a folder, use exiftool -if '$gpslatitude' -p '$filename' . on a copy of your photos.
Which built-in tools show EXIF, and which miss the GPS?
We tested the two Terminal tools that ship with macOS against the same file as above, which had a camera make, model, date and GPS position.
| Tool | Camera make and model | GPS in our test |
|---|---|---|
sips -g all photo.jpg | Shown | Not listed |
mdls photo.jpg | Returned (null) for the make | Returned (null) for latitude |
exiftool photo.jpg | Shown | Shown |
| Preview, Show Location Info | Not applicable | Shown on a map (per Apple) |
The lesson: sips -g all listed the camera fields but no location, so an empty result there does not prove a photo is clean. mdls reads from the Spotlight index, and our file sat in an unindexed temporary folder, so it returned nothing for any field. Use exiftool or Preview’s location item for a real answer. For more on the built-in tool, see the sips command on Mac.
Can I also view photo info in Finder or Photos?
Yes, both show the basics. In Finder, select the file and press Command-I; the More Info section lists dimensions and camera details where present. In Photos, the Info button on an open picture shows the camera, lens and a location map for photos that have one. They are friendlier than Terminal but show less, so go to exiftool when a field matters.
Not sure what the tags mean? Read what EXIF data is and what it reveals.
When is Smol the wrong tool for this?
Viewing is not what Smol does. Preview and exiftool are the right tools for checking a photo, and both are free. Smol does not show you tags.
Where Smol earns $29 (once, one Mac) is the next step: stripping EXIF, GPS, IPTC and XMP from a whole folder at once, without re-encoding, from a Finder right-click, with nothing uploaded. See batch remove metadata on a Mac, the best metadata remover for Mac, or pricing.
How we checked this
Wrote test Make, Model, date and Paris GPS tags into a generated JPEG, then ran exiftool 13.50, sips -g all and mdls on it and recorded what each showed. Preview steps for location from Apple Support. Facts last checked . We make Smol, so treat our claims about it with the same care as any vendor’s, and see our editorial policy.
Viewing EXIF data on Mac: common questions
How do I see EXIF data on a Mac without installing anything?
Open the photo in Preview and choose Tools > Show Inspector for camera details, or Tools > Show Location Info for GPS. Finder’s Get Info (Command-I) also lists some fields. These are built in. For every tag, you need a free tool like exiftool.
How can I tell if a photo has GPS location?
In Preview, choose Tools > Show Location Info. If it is grayed out, the image has no location data, according to Apple. In Terminal, exiftool -gps:all photo.jpg prints the GPS tags, and prints nothing if there are none.
Why does sips not show GPS data?
In our test, sips -g all listed make, model and dates but no GPS lines for a file that did contain coordinates. It is not a complete EXIF viewer. Do not treat its silence as proof a photo has no location. Use exiftool or Preview.
Can I view EXIF data for many photos at once?
Yes, with exiftool. Point it at a folder, for example exiftool -r -GPSPosition folder, and it prints the GPS position for every file inside, recursively. Work on copies if you plan to edit anything afterward.
Do photos sent by iMessage or AirDrop keep EXIF data?
We did not test this, so we will not guess. Sharing options vary by app and settings. The reliable approach is to check the exact file you are about to send with Preview or exiftool, and remove location first if needed.
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