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Safe Upload UI
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The Problem
Millions of images are shared online every day, but many users don't realize those images can silently contain hidden information.
A simple photo can expose:
- GPS coordinates (home, workplace, school)
- Device details (phone and camera information)
- Exact timestamps
- Additional metadata users never intended to share
Most people never see this information and often don't know it exists.
Someone posting a pet photo, meetup picture, or personal image could unintentionally reveal where they live or where they were at a specific moment.
This isn't a rare edge case — it happens silently every day.
The Solution
Safe Upload is a Devvit app that helps communities protect users before they accidentally overshare.
The app scans uploaded images for hidden metadata, clearly explains what information is exposed, and instantly generates a cleaned version with sensitive metadata removed.
The image itself never changes.
No:
- AI processing
- blurring
- cropping
- resizing
- visual modification
Only the hidden metadata is removed.
How It Works
- A moderator installs Safe Upload in their subreddit
- The moderator creates a Safe Upload post
- Users open the post and upload an image
- Safe Upload scans the image for hidden metadata
- A risk report is generated:
- HIGH
- MEDIUM
- LOW
- A clean copy is created with sensitive metadata removed
- Users copy the cleaned image and safely use it in their Reddit post
Risk Detection
| Risk Level | Trigger |
|---|---|
| HIGH | GPS location detected |
| MEDIUM | Device information or timestamps detected |
| LOW | No sensitive metadata found |
What Gets Removed
- GPS coordinates
- Device and camera details
- Timestamps
- EXIF metadata
- IPTC metadata
- image text metadata
- comment segments
Privacy Principles
Safe Upload was intentionally designed around minimal data handling.
- No image storage
- No user accounts
- No external APIs
- No metadata values logged
- No tracking
- Original files removed from memory immediately after processing
Why Devvit
Safe Upload works best directly inside Reddit communities.
Moderators can install it once and immediately make it available to everyone in their subreddit.
Users don't need:
- separate websites
- external tools
- accounts
- downloads
The protection happens exactly where sharing happens.
Community Impact
Personal communities
Protects users sharing family photos, pets, travel pictures, and personal content from accidentally exposing location data.
Meetup and local communities
Reduces the risk of unintentionally revealing addresses or frequently visited locations.
Support communities
Helps privacy-conscious users share images more safely while discussing sensitive topics.
Technical Highlights
Frontend
- React 19
- Tailwind CSS 4
- Vite
Backend
- Hono
- Node.js 22
- Devvit Serverless
Metadata Detection
- exifr
Metadata Removal
- Custom pure JavaScript image parser
The image is processed without re-encoding, preserving original quality.
What I Learned
- Privacy tools need to remove friction or users will not adopt them
- Platform constraints can lead to better engineering decisions
- The safest privacy feature is often the invisible one
- Small protections can create meaningful community impact
Closing
Safe Upload gives communities a simple safety layer for something most people never realize exists.
Hidden metadata should not silently expose users.
Safe Upload makes privacy protection automatic, understandable, and accessible directly inside Reddit.
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