# Remove GPS from GoPro video

> GoPro cameras from the HERO5 generation onward write a telemetry track in GoPro's GPMF format next to the video. On models with GPS it logs latitude, longitude, altitude and speed throughout the clip, and GoPro's own documentation lists a camera serial number field (CASN) in the same metadata. This tool zeroes the telemetry, timecode and recovery tracks and clears the camera-named track labels, so the footage plays exactly as before.

## What a GoPro writes into every clip

Open a GoPro MP4 in a media inspector and you will usually see more than picture and sound. GoPro's documentation describes at least four tracks in a typical file: video, audio, timecode and a telemetry track named "GoPro MET". That last one is where GPMF data lives. Its samples are labeled "gpmd".

What GPMF can contain depends on the model and settings:

- **GPS**: on HERO5 Black and later models with a receiver, latitude, longitude, altitude and speed, written several times a second. HERO11 introduced a newer GPS stream with time and fix quality. GoPro's parser documentation notes that HERO12 has no GPS receiver and that GPS returned with HERO13.
- **Motion sensors**: accelerometer readings around 200 times a second and gyroscope readings at similar or higher rates, depending on the model.
- **Camera identity**: GoPro's documentation lists a camera serial number key (CASN), a model key and a device name in the header metadata.
- **Other camera state**: exposure, orientation and more, varying by firmware.

Older models also wrote a separate "SOS" data track used for recovering damaged files. That is not GPMF, but it is still extra data riding along.

Turning GPS off on the camera stops the position log. It does not stop the sensor tracks or the camera's identity fields. A clip shot with GPS off can still identify the specific camera that recorded it.

## How to strip GoPro telemetry

1. Copy the clip from the SD card or from Quik to your computer or phone.
2. Press **Choose files** and pick the MP4. You can add the matching .LRV proxy as well.
3. Check **Found in this file**. The track list shows the video, audio, timecode and data tracks, and a data-track line notes that they often hold GPS, motion sensors or timecode.
4. Read the result. It lists the removed telemetry and data tracks and warns that the timecode now starts at zero.
5. Download the "-clean" copy and share that instead of the original.

## What changes in the file

The cleaned clip keeps its video track and audio track exactly as recorded. Everything else is neutralized:

- the GPMF telemetry track's samples are overwritten with zeros, and the track itself becomes empty padding;
- the timecode track and any older recovery track get the same treatment;
- the user-data box, where GoPro stores camera settings and identity information, is removed;
- creation and modification times in the file headers are cleared;
- the track names, such as "GoPro AVC", are blanked, and so is the encoder name in the video track's description ("GoPro AVC encoder" on these cameras).

File size stays identical, because nothing is cut out; data is overwritten in place. Players treat the zeroed areas as free space and skip them.

Want to keep the overlays? Telemetry is what apps use to draw speed and route gauges on your footage. Render those overlays first, export the finished video, and clean the export. The gauges are then part of the picture, and the raw route is gone.

## The .LRV and .THM files on your card

GoPro's support page explains that .LRV files are low-resolution video and .THM files are thumbnail images, both used by Quik for copying, playback and sharing, and not meant to be used on their own.

An .LRV is a real video and can carry its own metadata, so it is accepted here and cleaned like the MP4. A .THM is a small JPEG picture under another extension. Drop one on the box and it is cleaned like any photo (a color profile, if it has one, stays and is listed), the download is named .jpg, and a note tells you the name did not match the contents. The file chooser may not offer .THM files, so drag it in. There is rarely a reason to share one. When you send footage to someone, send the cleaned MP4 rather than a copy of the whole card folder.

## Turning GPS off on the camera

If you do not need GPS stickers or route overlays, switch GPS off so new clips do not log your position. GoPro documents these paths:

- **HERO13 Black**: from the main screen, swipe down, swipe left, tap **Preferences**, tap **GPS**, then **Off**. In the Quik app, tap the gear icon, tap **GPS** and choose **Off**.
- **HERO11 Black**: swipe down, swipe left, tap **Preferences**, then set **GPS**.
- **HERO10 and HERO9 Black**: under **Preferences**, open **Regional**, then **GPS**.

Clips you already recorded keep their GPS log until you clean them.

## What this tool cannot do

- **Alter the recording.** Video and audio are copied bit for bit. A trail, a number plate ahead of you or a voice on the soundtrack is exactly as it was, and so is a speed gauge an app already rendered into the picture.
- **Touch the rest of the codec settings** or the picture and sound data. On the GoPro clips the tool is tested on, nothing that names the camera is left after cleaning; anything a file still holds is quoted under **Left in the file**.

A result that shows nothing as left reports on what the tool checks for, no further. Its [limits](/methodology/#limits) are public.

## Which cameras have been tested

The cleaner was tested with GoPro's published sample clips from HERO5, HERO6, HERO7 and HERO8, plus MAX, Fusion and Karma footage: the output has the same size, decodes without errors, keeps identical audio and video packets, and contains no GPS or serial number. Newer models use the same GPMF track structure, and the tool removes data tracks by type rather than by model, but they have not all been tested individually.

## Where your footage goes

Your clip is not uploaded. The browser reads the file in slices, patches the telemetry and boxes it needs to change, and offers you the result as a download. No frames, telemetry or file names leave your device, even for multi-gigabyte files.

## How the telemetry is removed

The tool reads the MP4's movie box to list the tracks. It keeps tracks whose handler type is video or sound. For each remaining track, including the GPMF one, it uses the sample size and chunk offset tables to find every sample in the file and writes zeros over them. The track's own box is renamed "free" and zeroed. Large GoPro files that use 64-bit offsets are handled the same way. Nothing is re-encoded. The general video approach, with its side effects, is described on the [remove metadata from video](/remove-metadata-from-video/) page, and the [methodology page](/methodology/) covers testing and how to verify the absence of uploads.

## FAQ

### Will GoPro Quik still open the cleaned clip?

The clip is a standard MP4 with valid video and audio, so players and editors open it. Quik features that rely on telemetry, such as speed or route overlays, will have nothing to show.

### I had GPS turned off. Does my clip still need cleaning?

It still holds sensor data and the camera's identity fields. If you do not want the clip linked to your camera, clean it.

### Does this work on HERO12 Black footage?

HERO12 Black has no GPS receiver, so there is no position log, but it still writes telemetry and timecode tracks. Those are removed the same way.

### Can I keep the timecode?

No. Timecode is a data track and is removed with the others, so editing software shows the first frame as 00:00:00:00. Clean your final export if timecode matters.

### Why is the cleaned file exactly the same size?

The telemetry is overwritten with zeros rather than cut out, which keeps the file's internal offsets valid.

### Does the cleaned file reveal the camera brand anywhere?

Not in the places this tool reads. The brand-named track labels, the user-data box and the encoder name in the video track's description ("GoPro AVC encoder") are all cleared, and on the ten GoPro clips the tool is tested on (HERO5 to HERO8, MAX in both modes, Fusion, Karma) nothing that names the camera is left. The frames themselves are not examined: a logo or an overlay drawn into the picture stays.

## Sources

Checked 2026-10-11.

- [GoPro GPMF parser and format documentation](https://github.com/gopro/gpmf-parser)
- [GoPro Support: HERO13 Black GPS information](https://community.gopro.com/s/article/HERO13-Black-GPS-Information?language=en_US)
- [GoPro Support: How to turn on GPS with GoPro cameras](https://community.gopro.com/s/article/how-to-use-gps-performance-stickers?language=en_US)
- [GoPro Support: What are .thm and .lrv files?](https://community.gopro.com/s/article/What-are-thm-and-lrv-files?language=en_US)

Last updated: 2026-10-17