How to photograph items for resale without exposing your address
Selling secondhand means posting photos of things that are in your home. Done carelessly, that can leak where you live, what you own and when you're away — sometimes to a very large audience. Here's a practical checklist for sellers on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, Mercari, Depop and similar.
Before you take the photo
- Turn off the camera's GPS. That way the photo doesn't store your home coordinates in its EXIF metadata. See how to do it on iPhone and Android.
- Choose a neutral background. A plain wall, a cleared table or a sheet of colored fabric. Keep the rest of the room out of frame.
- Move personal information out of shot. Envelopes with your name and address, prescriptions, a label from a previous package, documents, your computer screen with email open.
When framing
- Watch the windows. A recognizable building, a street sign or a distinctive mountain in the background can locate your home. Close the blind or change the angle.
- Check reflections. Screens, shiny appliances, mirrors and even a pet's eyes can catch your face, your phone or the whole room.
- Cover serial numbers if they aren't needed for the sale. And if you're selling a phone or computer, make sure it's logged out and reset before you photograph the screen.
Before you post
- Clean the metadata on every photo. Even if you turned GPS off afterward, older photos and screenshots still carry data. Run every image through SinRastro before uploading: it's free, nothing is uploaded to any server, and it confirms the final file is down to zero.
- Don't reuse located photos from other listings. Copying an image from a previous ad drags its metadata along.
- Use the platform's chat and meeting points. Don't give out your exact address until the sale is closed, and prefer handoffs in public places.
Already took the photos? You can clean the EXIF metadata from your photos here — free, with nothing uploaded to any server and nothing to install.
Quick checklist
- Camera GPS: off.
- Background: neutral, no rest of the house in view.
- In frame: no names, addresses, documents or screens with data.
- Windows and reflections: checked.
- EXIF metadata: cleaned on every photo before uploading.
- Address: only shared when closing the sale.
It takes a minute and it saves you from the one mistake on this list that can't be undone once it's posted.