yes. it is stripped from the file (you can just download a photo to verify: https://static.inaturalist.org/photos/59208916/medium.jpeg), but the metadata will get loaded to the photo page (ex. https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/59208916). GPS coordinates on that page will be hidden if the observation’s geoprivacy is set to obscured or private, and i believe folks who aren’t logged into the system won’t be able to see any metadata on that page.
i believe this forum also strips metadata from photos.