Android app observations don't have location if the photo is edited prior to upload

I upload all my photos to Google Photos, and I frequently have to rotate them to the proper orientation. However, if I do this the location does not import properly into an Android app observation. The location still visible on the photo information and it uploads just fine on a browser. I have the same issue if I download the photo to my computer, rotate it, and re-upload it to Photos to upload to iNat with my phone. The issue also happens with cropping images, changing the contrast—anything that requires saving the photo.

I do not have this issue if I save the photo as a copy (which is a decent workaround).

I do not have this issue if I change the observation back to its original orientation, color, etc. The location imports fine that way even if it didn’t before. That seems bizarre.

I’m not sure if this is a Google Photos issue or not, but I’m pretty sure this is a new problem (within the last week or two, but I didn’t use the app much until recently so I’m not sure). I tried removing the Photos step by emailing the photo to myself from my phone’s files, downloading it on my computer, rotating it, and sending it back via email. This time it had the location set to “Lat: 0.0 Lon 0.0” and it didn’t have the location on the computer. I can’t try to edit the photos in my phone’s default photo app because I have a Pixel, so the default app is Google Photos.

Android version 1.20.22

I think that’s the same issue as this previous report, and I’m not sure iNat is able to do anything about it:

Yeah I’m thinking this isn’t really an iNat issue. I’ve seen other stuff now where people say that editing photos removes the metadata.