Photos and files

You can attach photos, screenshots, or PDF files to a tip. Hidden data inside a photo is removed before it is stored, and every file you attach is locked the same way as the rest of your tip.

What you can attach

• Photos and screenshots.
• PDF files.
• Up to 5 files with one tip.
• Each file must be under the size limit shown on the page.

If a photo is too large to attach, try taking a screenshot of it and attaching that instead.

Hidden data is removed from photos

Photos carry hidden data you cannot see. This can include the exact location where the photo was taken, the make and model of the device, and the time it was taken.

Before a photo you attach is saved, it is re-created from scratch so this hidden data does not come along. This happens on your device, then again on our server.

This does not change anything the photo shows. If a photo shows your face, your street, or anything else that could identify you, no cleaning step removes that. Look at what a photo shows before you attach it.

Caution

A PDF’s own details — like the author name and the software that made it — are cleared before it is saved. But a PDF is not fully cleaned: a photo placed inside a PDF keeps its hidden data. Attach the photo itself instead, if you can.

Video files are not accepted. There is no reliable way to remove their hidden data, so they cannot be attached to a tip.

Files are locked before they are stored

Every file you attach is locked before it is stored, the same way as the rest of your tip. This lock is held for the program you are reporting to. Your program can open the files you send, because they are the evidence you chose to share.

If a file does not attach

Sometimes a file cannot be attached when you send your tip. If this happens, you can still add it later. Use your tip code to send it in a message.

If you save your tip as a draft instead of sending it, a file that could not be attached will need to be added again when you come back.

Related

• Photos and files, in full: what the rebuild removes, and what it cannot.
• Encryption: how your tip itself is locked.
• Submitting a tip: the full process, from start to finish.

If you are not sure a file is safe to send, leave it out. You can always add it later using your tip code.