Your Phone Didn’t Snitch But Your Photo Did

Your digital trail doesn’t need GPS when the streetlamp in frame does the talking.

Christina Maas

Artificial intelligence has introduced a new risk to online privacy. Images that once seemed harmless or generic can now reveal much more than intended, even when users have taken steps to remove identifying data.

OpenAI’s most recent image-analysis tools, known as “o3” and “o4-mini,” no longer depend on embedded metadata to determine where a photo was taken. These models work entirely off visual information. They analyze subtle features like regional signage, architectural styles, menu typography, or the shape of streetlights to accurately identify a location.

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