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Changing Default Setting for "Options" -> "All Photos Data" When Sharing A Photo

How do I change the default setting for "Options" -> "All Photos Data" when I am sharing a photo from the Photo app on my iPhone Xr running iOs 16.6? Currently "All Photos Data" is disabled by default, which I would like to change to enabled by default.


I see nothing on that setting mentioned at Share photos and videos on iPhone - Apple Support


I have been having multi-year issues where the EXIF data is getting stripped from the photos even when I enable the "All Photos Data" setting under "Options".


Thanks in advance!!

iPhone XR

Posted on Sep 1, 2023 1:40 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Sep 2, 2023 11:40 AM

Deep breath.


This is a community and the folks answering here are Apple users just like you. Well, maybe more patient and less likely to take offence, but nonetheless, folks who do not work for Apple, have no connection with Apple. Just ordinary folks who give of their own time and knowledge. This is all explained in the Terms of Use you agreed to when you joined the forum. I'm sure you recall this from your close reading of them. As for technically minded people, well there are folks on here who have literally worked on space programs and are engineering professors. And some are just folks who leaned by doing.


Some of the folks responding have English as second language and do astonishingly well to respond to complex queries in another language. So, deep breath, patience. Léonie does not work for Apple. Neither do I. You might bear that in mind in choosing a tone for your replies.


Remember, you may own the hardware but you do not own the software. You licence it for use, and that licence is "as is". If Apple set limits on its behaviour that annoy you then you have a choice: use some other brand of hardware or software that suits your needs. Mind you, you'll find all that software is licensed on the same basis.


Your instructions to"Cupertino" can be sent via the mechanism for feedback:


Feedback - Photos - Apple


If you want to talk to Apple employees then contact Support.

7 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Sep 2, 2023 11:40 AM in response to CTSeaDragon

Deep breath.


This is a community and the folks answering here are Apple users just like you. Well, maybe more patient and less likely to take offence, but nonetheless, folks who do not work for Apple, have no connection with Apple. Just ordinary folks who give of their own time and knowledge. This is all explained in the Terms of Use you agreed to when you joined the forum. I'm sure you recall this from your close reading of them. As for technically minded people, well there are folks on here who have literally worked on space programs and are engineering professors. And some are just folks who leaned by doing.


Some of the folks responding have English as second language and do astonishingly well to respond to complex queries in another language. So, deep breath, patience. Léonie does not work for Apple. Neither do I. You might bear that in mind in choosing a tone for your replies.


Remember, you may own the hardware but you do not own the software. You licence it for use, and that licence is "as is". If Apple set limits on its behaviour that annoy you then you have a choice: use some other brand of hardware or software that suits your needs. Mind you, you'll find all that software is licensed on the same basis.


Your instructions to"Cupertino" can be sent via the mechanism for feedback:


Feedback - Photos - Apple


If you want to talk to Apple employees then contact Support.

Sep 2, 2023 2:32 AM in response to CTSeaDragon

The default is security measure, so we do not accidentally share to much information with other people when sharing a photo. The way it is set up, we hare reminded to think about it, if we really should share the location and the date with others, before we share a photo. There may be other people in the photo, who would object to there data being shared. So it would be risky to share the photos with all metadata outright, without reminding us to think about it.


If you want to be sure to save the photos with all metadata, save them to iCloud Drive and transfer them to a computer, zip the folder with the saved images and share the zipped folder, by Mail Drop.

Sep 2, 2023 6:34 AM in response to léonie

Léonie,


I had to calm myself down after reading the completely tone-deaf response to my question.


I give you kudos for the good intentions in the post, which provides answers to questions that I did not ask.


1) Apple is correct in disabling by default "All Photos Data" out of the box. It is a good setting for those who lack the security knack to know any better, which is OK .. I get it!!


That being said, I (as the end user) am within my purview (as the one who now owns the device) to accept the security risk by enabling by default "All Photos Data". Apple does not own this device. An enterprise does not own and manage this device. This part of your response is completely tone-deaf and disregards my ability to accept the security risk - "So it would be risky to share the photos with all metadata outright, without reminding us to think about it."


Who are you to lecture me?!?!


2) "There may be other people in the photo, who would object to their data being shared." Seriously?!?! If I am sharing the photo in the first place, then that privacy concern you are citing (which, to your credit, is completely legitimate) has already flown the coop. Disabling by default the inclusion of EXIF data fails to prevent me from sharing the photos against someone's privacy wishes. There are still ways to tag location data on the photo even if the EXIF data is stripped (ever hear of tagging location in a Facebook post?!?!). Horse leaving then closing the barn door works really well.


3) Your response TOTALLY!! answers a question... that I did not ask - "If you want to be sure to save the photos with all metadata, save them to iCloud Drive...". Yes, I am fully aware of that workflow, which is completely separate from the one I am describing.


Dear Cupertino,


If someone is going to answer this question going forward, then please let it be a competent software engineer who understands the technology.


My workflow is that I like to make a smaller-sized version on device (i.e., on the iPhone Xr) that retains all the EXIF data without having to go through the less-convenient workflow that Léonie. Change "iCloud" to "Google Photos", and I have already verified that the EXIF data carries over... a workflow which COMPLETELY FAILS!! to scratch my itch.


For some years, I have been experiencing the problem where the EXIF data is being stripped from the smaller file when I open it off-device (i.e., outside of the iPhone Xr). I recently cobbled a workflow that sometimes works to retain the EXIF data where:


1) Start a new email.

2) Select photo or photos.

3) Select "Small" for file size.

4) The resulting .jpeg file usually has the EXIF data. Yes, I am deliberate in mentioning the .jpeg file extension. The EXIF data comes in stripped off in the files with the .jpg extension.


Even if I start with the sharing screen then enable the "All Photos Data" option, I am still receiving .jpg files with the EXIF data stripped.


My workflow is a lot quicker and more convenient than uploading files to iCloud, saving it somewhere else off-device, THEN figuring out how to shrink the files. These are two completely DIFFERENT workflows.


While I appreciate Léonie's good intentions, I can live with the answer of "tough stuff, pound sand, and live with it". It just would be nice to have a response from an actual technically-minded person.

Sep 2, 2023 7:07 AM in response to CTSeaDragon

Nothing in any of the legal et al. notices restrict me from changing those default settings. The closest mention is under the License:


"7.4    APPLE DOES NOT WARRANT AGAINST INTERFERENCE WITH YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE APPLE SOFTWARE AND SERVICES, THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN, OR SERVICES PERFORMED OR PROVIDED BY, THE APPLE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, THAT THE OPERATION OF THE APPLE SOFTWARE AND SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT ANY SERVICES WILL CONTINUE TO BE MADE AVAILABLE, THAT DEFECTS IN THE APPLE SOFTWARE OR SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE APPLE SOFTWARE WILL BE COMPATIBLE OR WORK WITH ANY THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE, APPLICATIONS OR THIRD PARTY SERVICES. INSTALLATION OF THIS APPLE SOFTWARE MAY AFFECT THE AVAILABILITY AND USABILITY OF THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE, APPLICATIONS OR THIRD PARTY SERVICES, AS WELL AS APPLE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.


7.5    YOU FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE APPLE SOFTWARE AND SERVICES ARE NOT INTENDED OR SUITABLE FOR USE IN SITUATIONS OR ENVIRONMENTS WHERE THE FAILURE OR TIME DELAYS OF, OR ERRORS OR INACCURACIES IN THE CONTENT, DATA OR INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE APPLE SOFTWARE OR SERVICES COULD LEAD TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL, LIFE SUPPORT OR WEAPONS SYSTEMS.


7.6    NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY APPLE OR AN APPLE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY. SHOULD THE APPLE SOFTWARE OR SERVICES PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR LIMITATIONS ON APPLICABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS OF A CONSUMER, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU."



Sep 5, 2023 10:17 AM in response to léonie

Léonie,


Firstly, I sincerely apologize for being harsh in my previous responses. You are truly only trying to help.


Yes, you are totally correct regarding the privacy concerns of other people. That being said, I endeavor to be mindful of those concerns. My use cases do not include photos of other people.


The photos in question are pictures used to describe the physical layout of a particular scene. These pictures are useful as a visual image which supplements my written description of work that needs to occur as part of a job order.


My troubleshooting efforts are leading me to surmise that somewhere along the way, an innocuous setting somewhere became crufted. Theoretically, enabling the "All Photos Data" slide button under "Options" should allow for the EXIF data to carry over with the file. My iPhone Xr is rather old, so I may just have to settle for using my ad-hoc workaround until I transition to a new iPhone.


My workflow is useful for me since it allows me to conveniently produce a small file on the fly rather than having to download the full-sized file later THEN shrink it. There are many times where the smaller file is all I need in order to visualize for someone else the scene for a job order.



The curious part which I can't figure out is that the EXIF data exists in the *.jpeg files but not the *.jpg files.


Thank you for your assistance.

Changing Default Setting for "Options" -> "All Photos Data" When Sharing A Photo

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