Use of EXIF, IPTC and GPS information in JPEG as tracking cookie

[joe]

Can applications use EXIF, IPTC and GPS information in JPEG as a tracking cookie?

[joe]

guess i need to be more specific:

So the application I'm working on:
1)  allows users to upload photos,video and audio,
2) users can add metatags to the pix

I can get the gps exact coordinates ok, but I think I should strip the exif data regarding the photo since it serves no purpose for me
yes____.......No______

Now I'm going to offer a "free" filter so users can fix the pix, but as the filtering process is going on I then think its great time to add my own exif/iptc.

My app will house the photo so I can then be able to use the exif/iptc as a tracking cookie

User then will want to send their pix/audio/video to their own friends.........then I can see where the data is being sent.......

Anyone gives me any better ideas?......see any problems?

[Phil Harvey]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for explaining, but I still don't understand why you are asking.

You may store whatever information you want in the metadata of an image.

To be able to use this as a tracking cookie, you need to be able to read the image.  How do you plan on reading images that your users have sent to their friends?

- Phil

[G8DHE]

Why delete any metadata ? 
Do you own the copyright ? Unless that's part of the deal to upload, do you have the right to alter the contents at all ? 
By all means add more metadata, even make it clear which parts you have added.

[joe]

1) Agreed best if i leave all metatags on the pix when they upload to the app

2) I can though add gps if not already added to the pix. meaning the location of where the pix was uploaded if different than the location of orig pix

3) So I add tracking cookies to the pix just like a pix on a website that a users views then leave the site to go to other sites.

4) Issue is: when the user sends the pix to their friends it will contain the tracking cookie, right?

Issue is how do you set up a tracking mechanism to read all the pix with cookies as they are being exchanged btw friends on apps within a network?

Is this too far out there?

[joe]

Please excuse my rambling distribes, but let me keep posting questions/info as I find it so Iget all the issues on the table.

So,
1) myspace is bought by specifimedia (and justin timberlake!)
2) Go to myspace then upload pix
3) review what is on the pix and you see ...http://cache.specificimedia.com (dimension: a 1x1x pixel.)
4) now try to send that pix to yahoo and it noted:
Our system detected an illegal attachment on your email

Thus why does the largest ad network want to add data to the back of pix? Ok its easy to add the data to the pix but how do you monetize it? Once that pix is sent around the web to your friends how is it tracked?

Now if that pix is added to a site that is within the ad network of specificmedia it then could read that cookie on the back of the pix, RIGHT? So it works just like a pixel that is attached to a website ad. User opens up a website with content and pix/video. They click the pix to view and then the tracking cookie within the ad attaches. when the user raoms the net they carry that tracking cookie until the user clears their browser. So now the same for adding cookies to pix that users take???

thx for insight and any referral to material to read on subject
joe

[joe]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for explaining, but I still don't understand why you are asking.

You may store whatever information you want in the metadata of an image.

To be able to use this as a tracking cookie, you need to be able to read the image.  How do you plan on reading images that your users have sent to their friends?

- Phil

The issue is not what the person taking the picture wants to add to their exif, the issue is what are these apps adding to the pic to use that data as a tracking mechanism:

take a picture and run a ck on exif data
upload that pic to an app that says it has a filter system
add their filter processing to your pic
run a ck on the data that the app is adding
I am seeing additional data, ie gps etc being added

that's what I'm concerned about. anyone have info on all these apps that are now advertising they allow picture to be uploaded and shared with friends but actually using the pictures to track users, much like when a user views a picture on a website. The tracking cookie is then added to the user's browser

appreciate any info in this area

[joe]

Why delete any metadata ? 
Do you own the copyright ? Unless that's part of the deal to upload, do you have the right to alter the contents at all ? 
By all means add more metadata, even make it clear which parts you have added.

see my recent post, but yes, it's a picture you take on your ownthen upload it to the zillions of new android/apple apps that allow pictures to be uploaded. what data are they adding to a person's picture? The data can be used to track a person across sites, or for storage.

anyone with info/speciality in this area. what would be a good tool. I'm using opanda

thanks

[joe]

As an example, a recent study showed many apps uploading user's address contact list, including getting the interest of fed gov, see below. Now in addition to the initial issue, most of these apps relate to upload of photos, video and audio.

User adds metatags, comments etc on their pix, or allows coarse geo-tags, not fine. Is that data ADDED, to the pix by the app?

Also since 2of the most commonly used metadata formats for image files are IPTC and XMP, is that storing user data?

News stories:

Path Apologizes For Contact Uploads, Deletes Data - Forbes
Path responds to address book ... a Path app for Mac OS X. Thampi discovered that Path automatically uploaded the contact info for all of a user's address book.
www.forbes.com/.../08/path-apologizes-for-contact-uploads... - Cached
More results from forbes.com »

http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?q=news/ranking-members-waxman-and-butterfield-launch-inquiry-into-information-collection-and-use-pract

appreciate any info on anyone that specializes in this area. I understand its not the usual exif data that the user would add, or the normal data that the digital camera automatically adds to the pix, this is a third party that is "filtering" the pix. The probelm then is the user sends that pix to their friends with the data attached to the pix which is downloaded into the rom of the friends mobile devices

thanks for info
joe

[joe]

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE:

1) I took a pix and then ran a check on it using opanda. This is what was reveled on the photo( PHOTO 1) :

[Image]
Make = Apple
Model = iPhone 4
Orientation = right/top
X Resolution = 72
Y Resolution = 72
Resolution Unit = inch
Software = 5.0
Date Time = 2012-04-11 11:34:48
YCbCr Positioning = centered
Exif IFD Pointer = Offset: 186

[Camera]
Exposure Time = 1/15"
F Number = F2.8
Exposure Program = Normal program
ISO Speed Ratings = 80
Exif Version = Version 2.21
Date Time Original = 2012-04-11 11:34:48
Date Time Digitized = 2012-04-11 11:34:48
Components Configuration = YCbcr
Shutter Speed Value = 3.91 TV
Aperture Value = 2.97 AV
Brightness Value = 2.69 BV
Metering Mode = Pattern
Flash = Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length = 3.85mm
Subject Area = Rectangle: center(x=1295, y=967), width=699, height=696
Flashpix Version = Version 1.0
Color Space = sRGB
Exif Image Width = 2592
Exif Image Height = 1936
Sensing Method = One-chip color area sensor
Exposure Mode = Auto exposure
White Balance = Auto white balance
Scene Capture Type = Normal
Sharpness = Hard






2) I THEN TOOK THE SAME PIX AND UPLOADED IT TO AN ANDROID/APPLE APP THAT MARKETED IT WOULD APPLY FILTERS ETC.  Note this is the same pic as above:

Here's what was now shown:


[Image]
Orientation = top/left
X Resolution = 72
Y Resolution = 72
Resolution Unit = inch
YCbCr Positioning = centered
Exif IFD Pointer = Offset: 102

[Camera]
Exif Version = Version 2.21
Components Configuration = YCbcr
Flashpix Version = Version 1.0
Color Space = sRGB
Exif Image Width = 480
Exif Image Height = 720
Scene Capture Type = Normal

[Thumbnail Info]
Compression = JPEG Compressed (Thumbnail)
X Resolution = 72
Y Resolution = 72
Resolution Unit = inch
JPEG Interchange Format = Offset: 286
JPEG Interchange Format Length = Length: 9108

[Thumbnail]
Thumbnail = 160 x 107

3) I then took that same picture and used the interface within the app to send it to facebook and then ran a ck on opanda:

IT SHOWED NOTHING........ALL THE EXIF WAS DELETED.

So, can anyone help. What are your concerns when the app deleted some of the exif data when I uploaded the pix to the app, then what about facebook deleting all my exif data?........there is no way to get all that exif data back right?

Now i don't know whether the app took my pix and added data that ONLY the app could view, and stored that data associated with my pic for tracking, but I would appreciate any thoughts in any area on this.

thanks
joe

[Phil Harvey]

Image editing apps are basically free to do what they want with metadata.

The MWG provides some guidelines, but they aren't very strong and image editors are basically still free to do what they want.

- Phil

[joe]

thanks for the response but that's too vague an explanation. An entire industry has started related to apps that exist to upload photos. I have shown what is being done. I'm not concerned that an organization would question such activity, since it would have no authority to obligate an app. I want to understand what is going on.

Someone noted why touch the data, leave it alone, but I am seeing the gps being added without ok from the user and then the opposite is happening too. gps is being added w/o ok. To those in the biz........with expertise, what is going on with these apps?

Lets talk storage. So an app exists to upload pix. It allows a ton of pix to be uploaded. Is all the exif data needing to be scanned before it is downloaded into the servers that host the pix. So are the app servers wanting to delete the data so they can increase storage without going to the clouds?

Or, does the exif data not assit the apps to do tracking so the app"filters" the data bydeleting it so it can add on only data that helps the app and ad networks?

any specific help by someone with knowledge. WHY this is going on in so many of the new apps on the market?

[joe]

So this siteis getting some pull on google!

Go google: jpeg tracking cookies

This site pulls up#1................ok so we will have some visitors.

[joe]

SORRY FOR THE MULTIPLE POSTS. IT IS EASIER TO USE THIS SITE TO POST ALL MY RESEARCH ON THE SUBJECT AS I TRY TO UNDERSTAND THIS AREA. FEEL FREE TO JOIN IN AND EXPLAIN WHAT I'M POSTING

So I skimmed over some other posts and it seems the interest here are those in the photography biz that want to organize their own pix/their work product?..........true?

You do understand that what your expertise is in has become the #1 NEW.NEW way to replace udid...flash cookies....zombie cookies.....and now odin.

"Requirements for third-party ad serving - Advertising Policies Helpsupport.google.com/adwordspolicy/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer...Cached

Apr 3, 2012 – You may not associate cookies, web beacons, or other tracking ... 120x600, JPEG, PNG, GIF, SWF "


WELCOME TO THE NEW TRACKING MECHANISM FOR A 50 BILLION DOLLAR BIZ!

[joe]

So next issue is:

3) I then took that same picture and used the interface within the app to send it to facebook and then ran a ck on opanda:

IT SHOWED NOTHING........ALL THE EXIF WAS DELETED.


Does the exiftool only show the exif? SO what about the xmp and iptc data from a jpeg? Is this the reason why there is nothing showing on the pic when I see it after sending it to facebook?..........

[Phil Harvey]

I don't use facebook, but I imagine that they resize the images for web display.  Typically, when this happens, all metadata is deleted. I think older versions of Photoshop did this, but CS4 seems to erase EXIF and IPTC but preserve some XMP.

ExifTool reads all types of metadata, including IPTC and XMP.

- Phil

[joe]

So my interest is advertising and marketing networks using mobile apps that are using digital content, referring to photo,audio or video, but for sake of discussion will refer to it a 'MEDIA"  to add unauthorized tracking mechanism to that media. So since the exiftool catches dataadded to media, this foum looks to concentrate on photos, has anyone seen any such data being added. If so I would like to open the forum to chat about it, hows it done and to show proof of the activity.

So today I was doing a little research on watermarking data to media to use it for tracking users on apps. Ran across this info in an article:

"How does this work? The time of the digital photo is matched to the time of a GPS location. The coordinates of that GPS location are then linked (GeoTagged) to the photograph. These coordinates may be watermarked on the photo or used to position the photos in geospatial software such as ArcMap or Google Earth."
http://nctc.fws.gov/csp/oilspill/training/gps/GeoTagging/gps_photoLinking_and_terra_sync.pdf


So if anyone is interested in running some tests, doing some research, take a look at some of the top mobile apps that allow users to download/upload pix, ie path, hipster instagram to name a few.

1) Download the app

2) use one of your photos within your memory, run a test on it.

3) upload that photo to the app then examine the photo with exiftool

4) send the photo to facebook, since these apps have an interface, then re-examine the photo to see any changes.

5) NOW as for watermarking, besides what being added to the back of the picture as exif data, what tools can you  use to find invisible watermarking data on theface of the picture.

Appreciate anyone that's interested to join in to help with the analysis

thx
joe

Besides the exif data on the back to review, ie was gps added