Image research and metadata analysis help gather insights into information embedded in a photo and sometimes even find the location of the target.  

Metadata from images is a great source of information for any investigation. You can pull the location of a place where a photo was taken and other information that can add missing pieces to a case. Sometimes it can be the only information available to the otherwise careful person in question.

Many legal cases were based on metadata extracted from photos. Aaron Schock, a former congressman from Illinois, was famous for his Instagram pictures in exotic locations while he was in the public service. His lavish lifestyle prompted the Associated Press to start an investigation into him in 2015. They were able to pull geolocation data from his photos and compare it to his travel expenses and flight information. The investigation exposed him using taxpayers’ money on excessive private travel and even expensive concert tickets framing them as a “fund-raising event”. The investigation resulted in his resignation from the political position, and he was indicted for two dozen counts of crimes including wire fraud a year later.  

In another case in 2012, a creator of McAfee Virus Protection, John McAfee, was arrested for gun violations, drug trafficking, tax evasion, and other crimes in Guatemala, after a media company Vice posted a bragging article about spending their time with him and added a photo to prove it. Geolocation data from the photo led authorities to discover his whereabouts and take McAfee into custody.

The metadata, or Exif data, is usually filled by the device that takes pictures but can also be changed using Photoshop or other similar applications. It contains a lot of technical data like information about a camera used or image settings, but investigators can pull such useful things like:

• GPS coordinates of the place where the photo was taken.

• Date and time of the shoot and when the picture was modified.

• Owner’s name.

Many metadata tools are available online for free or can be added as a browser extension or used as an app. Some of the useful tools online are added below as examples:

• FotoForensics – an online image tool

• Forensically – an online forensics tool

• Dr Watson – an online tool, that helps to pull GPS location from a photo

• Verexif – an online tool, that allows to review and removal of metadata

• The eXif.er – an online tool, that shows all types of Exif data

• Ghiro – an application, that performs image forensics

• ExifTool – an application, that pulls metadata from any type of files

• Metanull – an application, that allows to removal of metadata

• EXIF Viewer Pro – a Chrome extension

• Exif Viewer – a Firefox extension

Many social media websites scrape metadata from uploaded images, so it is better to get original photos if possible. Investigators can also prevent the leaking of data by removing images’ metadata and disabling geolocation. Additionally, if an image has zero data it might indicate that it was created by artificial intelligence such as GAN photos.