In the interest of your privacy, it is important to understand how the Fishbrain app uses Exif data found in catch photos.
What is Exif data?
Exchangeable image file format (Exif) is a standard for specifying formats and tags for image and sound files. For images taken on a digital camera or smartphone, this might include tags such as the location, date and time, exposure time, and ISO speed settings.
What Exif data does Fishbrain use?
The Fishbrain app specifically uses EXIF data (when available) in catch photos to determine where and when the photo was taken. By extracting the date and time, the app can automatically fill in those attributes of the catch details for you. By extracting geographic coordinates, the app will be able to drop an exact location pin in the map for the catch and better determine which species the fish identification algorithms should or should not suggest.
Does the Fishbrain app share the Exif data with other users?
You can rest assured that if another Fishbrain user of the app or fishbrain.com was to screenshot or download a catch image, there will be no Exif data in their version of the catch photo. The date and location will have been extracted and stored in our database in order to display these details in the map and catch details screen, but the exact location in the map will only be visible to users if you choose to share the catch location publicly. We have another FAQ for more details about location privacy settings.
Please note that without Exif data the location of your catch might not be automatically suggested when logging the catch on the Map.