GPSPosition: What This Metadata Tag Means

What it means

ExifTool calculates GPSPosition from GPSLatitude, GPSLongitude, and their N/S and E/W references. It is not stored in the file; ExifTool adds it so the location is easy to read and copy.

Example

Tag

GPSPosition

Group in ExifMeta

Composite

Example value

48 deg 51' 30.13" N, 2 deg 17' 40.13" E

This is how the tag appears in ExifMeta’s results. The value in your file will differ.

Typical values

The value lists latitude, then longitude, each in degrees, minutes, and seconds with its hemisphere letter. ExifMeta’s location banner shows the same point in decimal degrees, the format most map apps accept.

Where it comes from

It appears in the Composite group whenever a file has latitude and longitude tags. The location banner in ExifMeta shows the same position in decimal degrees, with a link to the map.

What it is useful for

It is the one value to copy when you want to look up a photo’s location on a map or send the coordinates to someone. If it is missing, the file has no complete latitude and longitude pair.

Watch out for

There is nothing to remove for GPSPosition itself: to take location out of a file, remove the GPS tags it is built from. For videos, look for GPSCoordinates instead.

Related tags

Tags that often appear next to GPSPosition, and what each one records.

• GPSLatitude

  GPSLatitude is the north-south part of the GPS position where a photo was taken. Together with GPSLongitude it gives the exact spot.

• GPSCoordinates

  GPSCoordinates is where videos store location: latitude, longitude, and often altitude in a single QuickTime tag, written by most phones.

Find it in your file

Upload a file to ExifMeta, then type GPSPosition into the “Search tags and values” box under All metadata. If nothing matches, the file does not contain this tag.

Learn more in the guide: How to Check Where a Photo Was Taken (GPS Location)