What your photos say about you

A photo is more than the picture you see. The file can also carry hidden details about how and where it was taken. Most people never look at them. Some people do.

For a small business or an artist who works from home, a few of those details are worth knowing about.

How Bernard helps

• Today, Bernard cleans every photo you add. When you upload a photo, or bring your site over in a move, Bernard removes the location, the camera serial number and the camera owner name from the file before your site shows it. You do not have to do anything. This has been live since 6 November 2026. It does not change the picture.
• Today, your assistant can check an older photo. Photos added before that date may still carry the details. Ask your assistant to read what a photo says about itself, and it tells you if a location is still in the file (am I allowed to use this photo? explains what it reads).
• Today, the useful details are kept. Before the private details go, the library card records any credit or copyright line the file carried, so the evidence of who made it is not lost.
• Today, the original is kept. Bernard keeps a private, untouched original of each new photo you add, with a fingerprint and the date it arrived, as proof of what you had and when. Only the public copy is cleaned (how do I prove it is mine?).
• Today, your name goes in. For the photos you say are yours, Bernard writes your name and copyright line into the copies it stores from then on, and a "not for AI training" note while your images switch is on (your name stays with your photos).

The rest of this page explains what the hidden details are and why they matter.

What a photo file can carry

Cameras and phones write extra information into each photo file. The standard most cameras follow is called Exif. It is published by CIPA, the Japanese association of camera makers. The Exif standard defines fields for many details, including these three:

• The location. A GPS point for the place where the photo was taken.
• The camera body serial number. A number unique to one camera.
• The camera owner name. A name the owner can type into the camera's settings.

Not every camera fills in every field. Many phones save the location when the camera has permission to use it. Google's help for Google Photos says your camera can add location information to your photos, and shows how to turn it off. Some cameras write their serial number into every picture.

Why it matters

For many photos, these details are harmless. For some, they tell a stranger more than you meant to say.

• A home studio. A potter photographs new work at her kitchen table. If the website publishes the file unchanged, the location in the file can point to her house.
• A pattern of places. Photos taken over a year can show where you work, where you teach and where you go.
• One camera, many sites. A serial number is the same in every photo from one camera. It can link photos on your website to photos you posted under another name.
• Your name in the file. A camera owner name can show who took a photo, even when the website does not.

None of this needs special skill to read. Free tools show these fields for any photo file you download.

What you can do yourself

1. Check your phone. Decide if your camera needs to save the location. Google's help page above shows the setting.
2. Check one photo. Download a photo from your own website and open its details in a photo viewer. Look for a location or a serial number.
3. Ask how your website treats uploads. Some platforms remove these details. Some keep the original file exactly as you uploaded it. On Bernard, this step is done for you.

Remove the private details, keep the useful ones

Removing private details is one half of the job. The other half is keeping the details that help you.

Some fields in a photo file say who made it and on what terms. Photo software and search engines can read them. The IPTC Photo Metadata User Guide describes these fields: the creator, the copyright notice, the credit line and a link to a statement of rights. It also has a field that says if the owner allows data mining or AI training.

Bernard now does this. For a photo you say is yours, it writes your name, your copyright line and, while your images switch is on, your choice about AI training into the copies it stores from then on. Copies already on your site before you marked the photo are brought up to date in a later step. Bernard also keeps your untouched original in private, with a record of when it arrived. That record can help if someone copies your work. Someone copied my work. How do I prove it is mine? explains how.

A name in the file does not stop copying. A person can remove it, and some platforms remove these fields when a photo is uploaded. It does make your claim clear, and Why no website can lock your images, and what works instead explains why that is the honest kind of protection.

Your next step in Bernard

Ask your assistant: "Check the photos on my home page for a hidden location." It reads each file and tells you which older photos still carry one, so you can replace them. Every photo you add from now on is cleaned for you.

Bernard is an AI-assisted website and marketing platform for small businesses. He builds a new site or moves an existing one, keeps it fast and readable to search and AI tools, and looks after it. Once measuring is on, he reads your numbers each week and suggests what to do next, with a button that does it. On the Nautilus Medium and Nautilus Large plans he also plans your marketing every six weeks and drafts your posts, emails and pages. Everything lands on a draft you approve. One flat price per site.

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See what Bernard would do with your business. Already have a website? Paste its address and he measures it up, free, and shows you the new place before you decide anything. Starting from nothing? Tell him what you are building.