Many users notice this when using Lumin:
- Some photos display detailed shooting locations
- Some videos can show exact streets or cities
- Some files show no location information at all
This is not a problem with Lumin itself.
The reason is simple:
Not all photos or videos actually contain GPS location data.
Only when a file already includes geographic metadata such as latitude and longitude can Lumin recognize and display the real-world location.
How Does Lumin Recognize Photo and Video Locations?
Lumin supports global geographic location parsing.
When a photo or video contains:
- GPS coordinates
- Geographic tags
- Embedded shooting location data
Lumin can automatically convert them into readable locations such as:
- Country
- State / Province
- City
- District
- Street
It also supports multilingual location display, for example:
- Haidian District, Beijing, China
- Гатчинский муниципальный округ, Ленинградская область, Россия
- المستقبل، منطقة مكة المكرمة، السعودية
Users do not need to perform any extra steps.
If location metadata exists inside the file, Lumin can automatically display the shooting location directly in the file information.
Why Do Some Photos Have No Location Information?
1. Location Permission Was Disabled During Shooting
This is the most common reason.
If, when taking the photo or video:
- System location services were disabled
- The camera app had no location permission
- “Save location” was turned off
- GPS signal was weak
Then the photo or video itself will not contain GPS coordinates.
In that case, Lumin cannot display a location.
How to Enable Photo Location on iPhone
Enable System Location Services
Go to:
Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services
Make sure:
- Location Services is enabled
Allow Camera Location Access
Go to:
Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Camera
Recommended setting:
- While Using the App
Also enable:
- Precise Location
Important
If you disable:
- Precise Location
- Camera location permission
then photos and videos taken on iPhone may not contain GPS information.
How to Enable Photo Location on Android
Different Android brands may use slightly different menus, but the process is generally similar.
Enable System Location
Go to:
Settings → Location (or Location Services)
Make sure:
- Location is enabled
Allow Camera Location Permission
Go to:
Settings → Apps → Camera → Permissions → Location
Allow:
- Allow only while using the app
or - Allow all the time
Enable Camera Geo-Tagging
Many Android phones also require enabling location recording inside the camera app itself.
Open:
Camera App → Settings
Enable options such as:
- Location
- Geo-tagging
- Save location information
Common names by brand:
| Brand | Common Setting Name |
|---|---|
| Xiaomi | Save location info |
| Huawei | Geo-tagging |
| OPPO / vivo | Location information |
| Samsung | Location tags |
If this feature is disabled, photos may not record GPS data.
Why Don’t Screenshots Have Location Information?
For example:
- Screenshots
- Screen recordings
- Exported app images
usually do not contain GPS metadata.
Therefore, Lumin will not display any shooting location.
This is completely normal.
Why Do Photos Saved From WeChat Often Lose Location Information?
Many social apps remove metadata to protect privacy.
This often includes:
- GPS information
- EXIF metadata
- Camera information
Examples include:
- WhatsApp sharing
- Telegram sharing
- Instagram uploads
- Facebook uploads
- WeChat sharing
- Social media compression
As a result:
A photo that originally had location information may lose it after being shared or saved again.
This is why users often see:
- The original photo has location data
- The saved WeChat version does not
This is extremely common.
Why Do Some Videos Have No Location Information?
Video location metadata is more complicated than photo metadata.
Photos
Photos usually use the EXIF standard, which is relatively consistent across devices.
Videos
Video metadata formats vary greatly depending on:
- iPhone MOV format
- Android MP4 format
- Manufacturer-specific formats
Some phones:
- Record GPS for photos only
- Do not save GPS for videos
Therefore:
Even videos recorded by yourself may not contain geographic location data.
Editing or Compressing Files May Remove Location Data
The following operations may erase GPS information:
- Image compression
- Cropping
- Beauty filters
- Exporting
- Video editing
- Format conversion
Many tools automatically remove metadata to reduce file size.
As a result:
Edited photos or videos may no longer contain shooting locations.
Lumin Does Not Modify Original Files
It is important to clarify:
Lumin does not remove or modify:
- GPS data
- EXIF metadata
- Shooting time
- Camera information
All files remain in their original state.
If the file already contains geographic coordinates, Lumin can automatically recognize and display the real-world location.
Which Files Are Most Likely to Contain Location Information?
Generally:
| File Type | Probability of Containing GPS |
|---|---|
| Original smartphone photos | Very high |
| Original iPhone videos | High |
| Original Android videos | Medium |
| WeChat images | Very low |
| Screenshots | Almost none |
| Downloaded internet images | Very low |
Therefore:
“It works for some files but not others” is completely normal.
Summary
Lumin supports:
- Global geographic location parsing
- GPS-to-address conversion
- Country / city / street display
- Multilingual location display
- Photo and video location recognition
However, the prerequisite is:
The file itself must contain geographic location data (GPS metadata).
If the photo or video never recorded location information,
or if metadata was later removed by social apps, compression tools, or editing software,
then no software can recover the real shooting location.