Cropping is not enough. The metadata stays.

On 3 December 2012 Vice published a photo of John McAfee. I still have the public file.

The EXIF says Apple iPhone 4S. DateTimeOriginal 2012:12:03 12:26:00. ModifyDate 2012:12:03 21:47:28. Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0 Macintosh. GPS 15.6582 N, 88.9922 W, about 7 metres. Rio Dulce, Guatemala.

The visible image is 470x353. A leftover thumbnail sits at 160x120.

The English recording of the EXIF on the public file.

Cropping is not enough. The metadata stays.

I am not identifying anyone else in the frame. GPS does not prove a crime. This is a surviving public news file.

Sources

We Are with John McAfee Right Now, SuckersVice, 3 December 2012.