Upload your photos and instantly see where they were taken on an interactive map — with photo thumbnails as markers. GPS coordinates are extracted directly from EXIF data — 100% private, nothing uploaded to any server.
We'll extract GPS coordinates and plot them on the map
This tool turns the GPS coordinates hidden inside your photo files into pins on an interactive map — and it all happens on your device, without uploading anything.
Every time a smartphone or digital camera takes a photo, it can embed a small block of metadata called EXIF inside the image file. When location services are enabled, that block includes the latitude and longitude of the spot where you pressed the shutter. The photo location map reads this EXIF GPS block using piexif.js, extracts the coordinates, and drops a photo thumbnail marker on the map at that exact point.
The map itself is rendered by MapLibre GL, a fully client-side map engine, using free OpenFreeMap/OpenStreetMap tiles. Because the map tiles are loaded from public tile servers and your photos are processed in the browser, no image data ever crosses the network. Your travel photos, your home, and any sensitive locations stay on your device.
After you drop a batch of photos, the stats bar counts how many files have GPS data, how many don't, and how many unique locations were detected. Photos without coordinates are still listed in the sidebar (dimmed), so you can tell at a glance which files need a location tag — useful when you're cleaning up a shoot before publishing a travel gallery.
You can export every detected location as a GPX waypoint file, then open it in Google Earth, QGIS, Strava, or Organic Maps to overlay your photo trail on a satellite view. Each waypoint carries the filename and timestamp, so it doubles as a lightweight trip log without any additional software.
Practical uses beyond just "seeing dots on a map".
Drop an entire holiday folder on the map and watch the route take shape. Markers show your actual trail — the beach stop, the viewpoint, the hotel — without scrolling through thousands of files.
The built-in poster generator lays your marked-up map out with your thumbnails and styles it (Minimal White, Vintage Paper, Modern Dark), then exports it as a PNG you can print or share.
The Share Map button builds a link that carries only the coordinates. Recipients see the same map view, but your actual photo files never leave your device — a clean way to tell someone "we were here" without sending originals.
Creators and small businesses can check whether a batch of images was taken at the expected location, spot files with stripped metadata, and decide which photos still carry location data before posting them online.
Landscape photographers keep a map of previous shooting locations to quickly answer "where did I get that angle?" — and to avoid repeating the same spot twice on the same day.
Before sharing photos publicly, drop them here to see exactly which ones contain GPS data. Pair it with the EXIF remover to strip location data from any file you plan to post.
It's normal for a batch of photos to come back with a mix of located and unlocated files. Here's what usually causes it.
If GPS recording is disabled on the phone or camera, no coordinates are written into the EXIF block. This is the single most common reason — check your camera's "save location" or "location tagging" setting before the next trip.
Exporting from many editors, or uploading through chat apps and some social platforms, strips EXIF automatically. Photos received over WhatsApp, Telegram, or after a "save as" in an editor often lose GPS entirely. If the original file exists on the camera, use that instead.
A screenshot is not a camera exposure, so it contains no location data — no tool can extract a location that was never written. The dimmed entries in the photo list make these easy to identify.
If you're not sure whether a file kept its EXIF at all, open it in the EXIF metadata viewer first. It lists every GPS field, camera setting, and timestamp the file actually contains, so you can see exactly what this map tool had to work with.
A few habits turn a neat map into a genuinely useful one.
Map from the files that came straight off the camera or phone. Copies that traveled through messenger apps usually lose their GPS block, and no amount of post-processing can restore it.
The tool accepts multiple files at once. Drop the full trip folder and let the map assemble itself — single-file checking misses the "trail" effect that makes a map compelling.
No photos handy? The "Try with sample data" button loads four cities plus one deliberately unlocated photo, so you can see how markers, the stats bar, and the dimmed no-GPS entries behave before using your own files.
A map is a great planning tool, but those same coordinates are private information. Before publishing photos, run them through the batch EXIF remover so your home or office location never travels with the image.
| Feature | SmartImgKit Photo Map | Google Photos Map View | Desktop EXIF Tools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uploads photos to a server | No — fully local | Yes, stored in your account | No |
| Account or sign-up required | No | Google account required | Depends on the app |
| Shows photo thumbnails as markers | Yes | Yes | Usually icons only |
| Export GPX waypoints | Yes, built-in | No direct GPX | Often paid or plugin |
| Photo map poster generation | Yes, 3 styles | No | No |
| Free / watermark-free | Yes, unlimited | Free with storage limits | Mixed, many paid |
If your priority is privacy, no account, and keeping the whole workflow on your own machine, the local approach wins. If you already live inside an ecosystem and want automatic timeline maps, the cloud option may be more convenient — at the cost of handing over every image with its location.
Check these useful supplies to print and create your edited images.
High-quality photo paper for printing your edited pictures.
Wireless compact photo printer — print 4x6 photos from your phone.
Matte heavy-weight paper for art prints & graphic works.
Rugged portable SSD — fast backup for photos, videos, and large files.
Ultra-lightweight 8oz reflector — easy to carry on location shoots.
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