Android's Geolocation Restrictions on Photos: A Frustrating Change

Running OpenBenches, a site for sharing photos of memorial benches with geolocation, has become challenging due to Google's recent changes in Android. Previously, users could easily upload geotagged photos using HTML input fields, but now Android strips this metadata, complicating the process. The shift to using a file picker allowed any file type, maintaining EXIF data, but even this method has been disrupted by Google. Progressive Web Apps and sharing methods like Bluetooth or email also fail to preserve geolocation.

The rationale behind Google's decision is privacy concerns, preventing users from inadvertently sharing their location. While social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp automatically strip geotags, Google's approach feels heavy-handed, lacking community consultation and leaving developers like me scrambling for solutions.

The only reliable method left is using a USB connection to transfer photos to a computer before uploading. This change feels monopolistic, as it forces developers towards costly native app development to access geolocation data. A potential solution could be user prompts for location sharing, but this might lead to user fatigue. Until a better solution emerges, developers are left frustrated and seeking community support to influence HTML specifications.