GPSDetect is a simple Firefox addon that monitors Firefox network traffic and automatically alerts the user whenever a JPEG file loads that contains embedded EXIF GPS coordinates.
When an image is detected that contains GPS data, the user is alerted, and given a link to the offending image as well as the GPS information and a link to the location on a map.
Note that most major social networking sites strip EXIF information (including GPS locations). This includes Facebook, Twitter and imgur.
You can install GPS detect from the mozilla addon store: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/gpsdetect/
GPSDetect is now a Firefox WebExtension (the last native addon version is
available in the 0.1.3b tag). The easiest way to test it is via web-ext.
The actual exif detection code is from Jacob Seidelin's exif-js project and is licensed under the MIT license. The version used here is a stripped down version, but the core functionality is the same.
Everything else is under the Mozilla Public License v2.0 and copyright Allan Wirth 2014.
The following improvements could be made (roughly in order of priority):
- Testing for robustness, especially against images that are already cached.
- Provide alerts/detection for other privacy compromising exif information, such as timestamp, lens serial number, etc.
- Add support for IPTC and/or XMP data. Note that XMP can contain EXIF data, so XMP can also contain GPS information. IPTC cannot contain GPS information, but could contain other sensitive information.
- Links to google maps, bing maps and openstreetmaps in addition to just geohack.
- Add support for clearing history / possible integration into the history clearing dialog.
- support for separation of private browsing mode.
- An icon that doesn't suck.
- (Probably not going to ever happen) Add an option for auto-loading/sniffing thumbnail links.