How do I do this? Or CAN I do this???

[kangareaux]

You guys seem to be able to answer whatever question i can come up with, but I have a tough one this time.

Can anyone tell me how to read the string of letters and numbers to tell where a picture taken or sent via cell phone originated. I am pretty sure that a court of law can take a pic and it's info and have the phone company tell which user it originated from due to the pic name and accompanying message ID #.

Is there any way for me to do this or figure out this code myself???

 

[mabas9395]

Most digital photos have data embedded into them called EXIF data that gives a lot of info about the photograph. It usually contains details about the camera settings, but it can contain the GPS coordinates. It just depends on what kind of cell phone camera took the picture.

So basically, it depends. For starters, I would get the photo on your computer and look at the EXIF data with a program that can read it. A lot of photo editing programs can do that. If you don't have one that does, Irfanview is a very good, free EXIF viewer (just google it and install it). If that data is still embeded in the photo, Irfanview will let you see it. However, it is very easy (and common) to strip that data out of a photo before you send it, making it very difficult for someone without an FBI connection to ever get to that information.

 

[Frantasmic]

Can anyone tell me how to read the string of letters and numbers to tell where a picture taken or sent via cell phone originated. I am pretty sure that a court of law can take a pic and it's info and have the phone company tell which user it originated from due to the pic name and accompanying message ID #.

Is there any way for me to do this or figure out this code myself???

So, your office Christmas party may have been a little too Merry on your part?

 

[kangareaux]

So, your office Christmas party may have been a little too Merry on your part?

LMBO! No, not my pics....thanks goodness!

 

[kangareaux]

Most digital photos have data embedded into them called EXIF data that gives a lot of info about the photograph. It usually contains details about the camera settings, but it can contain the GPS coordinates. It just depends on what kind of cell phone camera took the picture.

So basically, it depends. For starters, I would get the photo on your computer and look at the EXIF data with a program that can read it. A lot of photo editing programs can do that. If you don't have one that does, Irfanview is a very good, free EXIF viewer (just google it and install it). If that data is still embeded in the photo, Irfanview will let you see it. However, it is very easy (and common) to strip that data out of a photo before you send it, making it very difficult for someone without an FBI connection to ever get to that information.

Well, I know this person doesn't know about exif data. There's not much there that I can find though. I'm wondering about hte naming system for the photos...it does have the letters "ID" followed by some random numbers and letters. I was wonering if that can be used to track it without getting the phone company involved. (because it's not like they'd help anyway...LOL)

ETA.....was thinking maybe there was some kind of *formula* to figure it out like there is for social security numbers.

 

[zackiedawg]

The photo name won't have any location type info in it - sounds like you're looking at one of two things - the name of the photo as saved in the phone (such as 'img091010301'...usually that'll just be something like 'img' followed by numbers often representing the date and sequence), or the attachment or text ID number of a photo that was sent to you from another phone...which'll also usually be a phone number, sequence, or phone ID. Location info is often stored with camera phones...but as mentioned above, it's in the EXIF data if available - which could be read from the original photo file opened in a decent viewer or editor program.

Forwarded photos may not transmit the EXIF data, in which case you're up the creek. Or if the phone has no GPS tagging.

 

[AlbertZeroK]

No. You'll need a court order to get the data you are looking for, and that's only if it's available. If the message has been opend and re-saved, their is not way to track the orginal beccause the new copy is altered.

 

[kangareaux]

No. You'll need a court order to get the data you are looking for, and that's only if it's available. If the message has been opend and re-saved, their is not way to track the orginal beccause the new copy is altered.

This tells me what I need to know more than anything.

And the exif data just mainly shows me about my info and the pic size. Nothing much else there.

eta: Thanks everyone.