Start with the file you control
You may be preparing a public project photograph for your Flickr profile and want to know what information accompanies it. Identify the actual file you intend to upload, including whether it is the camera original or an edited export. Keep a private original if it is needed for your own records.
Review only your own material or files you have permission to handle. This checklist is about preventing unintended disclosure, not extracting another photographer’s location or personal details.
Separate receipt from public display
Flickr’s privacy policy says it receives and stores EXIF information unless that information is disabled on the device or removed before upload. The policy describes EXIF as including camera settings and potentially location. Source
That concerns what arrives with the file. A different part of the same policy describes the public EXIF link, how to hide it under Settings → Privacy & Permissions, and choices about public location display. Source
Changing how a page displays information should not be described as deleting information from an earlier upload. Keep those two actions distinct in your own review notes.
Use a three-layer checklist
| Layer | Inspect | Result to record |
|---|---|---|
| Outgoing file | The metadata in the copy you plan to upload | Information present before Flickr receives it |
| Account controls | EXIF visibility and location choices | The display settings you selected |
| Photo page | What the intended audience can see | The observed public presentation |
If you want a metadata-reduced copy, use an editor you trust and inspect its exported result before uploading. This guide does not prescribe an unverified editor menu or promise that a particular export preset removes every field. A filename saying clean does not establish what the file contains.
Check the visible scene too
For an illustrative product photograph taken in a home office, hiding metadata does not remove a postal label visible on the desk. Review the image pixels separately from the metadata and decide whether that photograph is appropriate for a public profile at all.
After an authorized setting change on your own account, revisit the photo in the audience context you care about. The owner’s view may contain information useful to management; do not assume it matches a public visitor’s view. Record what you actually observed and any access limit.
Finish with a bounded result
Your conclusion might be that the public EXIF link is hidden and the intended photo view was checked. It should not become a claim that all stored metadata or previously downloaded copies have disappeared.
The Flickr viewing and download review covers a separate audience question. If your own picture later appears elsewhere, use the modified-copy comparison guide to review candidate copies without assuming a matching image identifies its uploader.