iNaturalist Not Reading GPS Location Meta Data

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Platform (Android, iOS, Website): Android v 10

App version number, : 1.21.10 (477)

Description of problem iNaturalist does not read GPS or location data from pictures chosen from image gallery, nor from taking pictures with the app itself. This is despite that geotagging is on and I have full service while taking pictures. No other apps have problems with GPS location.

Are you certain you’re allowing iNat to access your location, and that the photos you have taken have GPS data in them? How are you getting the photos into iNat?

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Welcome to the Forum!

Yes, I made sure to check everything before posting.

I had GPS issues the other day too. I made several observations and some went through ok with my android phone and others came up with a completely different location even though I had hardly moved.

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That’s a normal way of how phone GPS is working you should check quite often if it’s right.

Yeah, it’s really strange. I didn’t have issues just a few days ago.

Can you please share it with help@inaturalist.org? Probably best to use Google Drive or Dropbox, sometimes sharing via Gmail strips metadata from the photo. Also, how are you getting the photo to iNaturalist?

Does this happen with every photo?

Yeah, it happens with every photo. I didn’t have this problem until just a little while ago. I explain in the OP how I get my photos on the app.

You wrote:

I’m not sure if you are starting in iNaturalist and importing photos, or you’re starting in your photo gallery and sharing photos from there to the iNaturalist app. It might sound trivial but that make a difference.

I have been experiencing a very similar occurrences, except using iOS, not Android. I described the details here:

https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/am-i-doing-something-wrong-website-uploader-does-not-grab-date-location-info/22333/9

If I use the iOS app, the location/time/date information gets uploaded, but then I cannot add much in the way of DQA, fields, tags, etc.

But, I’ve had no luck with the website upload functionality.

A post was merged into an existing topic: Am I doing something wrong? (Website uploader does not grab date/location info)

I wrote more than just that though.

Either way, everything works peachy now for some reason.

iPhone XS, iOS 14.3, iNaturalist app 2.8.6.

  1. Take a photo (HEIC mode)
  2. Move phone several miles
  3. Upload photo to iNaturalist

iNaturalist fails to use .HEIC photo file’s meta exif GPS coordinates, fails to use date too, and instead uses current location that is several miles off. The .HEIC photo file has the data. The app is allowed to use location “While Using” and “All Photos” are accessible to the app in iOS settings.

Did another test.

  1. Take a photo in 2015 and leave it on phone and phone backup for six years.
  2. Move several miles
  3. Upload 2015 photo to iNaturalist today.

The problem is the new .HEIC (2017) file format. If I chose a photo taken years ago by a different phone before HEIC was part of iOS the app reads the exif meta data correctly.

You’re welcome.

I updated iNaturalist to v3.2 build 636 and it is fixed. HEIC files with GPS / Date Meta data are now correctly read by iNaturalist app.

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