How to Rename Photos by GPS Location on Mac

Most photos taken on a phone carry the exact spot they were captured, hidden in their EXIF data. This guide shows how to pull that GPS location out and write it straight into the filename on macOS, so a folder of nameless IMG_ files becomes searchable by where each shot was taken.

How do you rename a photo by its GPS location?

Add an EXIF Metadata rule in Batchio, set the field to GPS Coordinates, and choose where to place it. The app reads the latitude and longitude from each photo and writes them into the name, for example 48.8566N_2.3522E. Photos without a location are skipped.

Every geotagged photo stores its capture location as latitude and longitude inside the EXIF metadata. Batchio reads that with the native macOS image framework, so there is nothing to install and no command line involved. Drag your photos in, add the EXIF Metadata rule, pick GPS Coordinates, and the live preview shows the coordinates for every photo that has them.

Use Prefix or Suffix to add the location alongside the existing name, or Replace Name to rename the photo entirely by its coordinates. There is also a GPS Altitude field if you want the elevation in the name too.

Build a location plus date filename

Stack two rules: a Date Insertion or EXIF Date Taken rule for the shoot date, then an EXIF Metadata rule for GPS Coordinates. The result is a name like 2026-03-01 48.8566N_2.3522E.jpg that sorts by date and records the place.

Because every rule in Batchio is composable, you can combine location with the date the photo was taken and a sequence number to build a fully descriptive, unique filename in a single pass. When two photos share a location and date, the built in conflict detection numbers the duplicates so nothing is overwritten.

Travel photographers use this to group shots by city, hikers to tag trail photos with where they were taken, and anyone with a phone library to make years of IMG_ files searchable by place.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all photos have GPS location data?
No. Photos taken on a phone with location services on usually contain GPS coordinates in their EXIF data, and many cameras with a GPS module or phone pairing do too. Photos from cameras without GPS, screenshots, and images that have been stripped of metadata do not. Batchio simply skips any photo that has no GPS location, so you can run the rule across a mixed folder safely.
How can I check whether a photo has GPS coordinates?
In Batchio, add an EXIF Metadata rule set to GPS Coordinates and watch the live preview. Photos that have a location show the coordinates in the new-name column; photos without one are left unchanged. You can also open a photo in the macOS Photos app or Preview and look at the Info panel, which shows a map when location data is present.
What format are the coordinates written in?
Batchio writes the latitude and longitude with a hemisphere letter, for example 48.8566N_2.3522E. That keeps the value filename-safe and sortable. You can place it as a prefix, a suffix, or use Replace Name to name the photo entirely by its location.
Can Finder rename photos by GPS location?
No. Finder's built-in Rename can only add text, add a number, or replace an exact string. It has no access to a photo's embedded EXIF or GPS data. A dedicated tool like Batchio reads the location straight from each file and writes it into the name, with a live preview and full undo.

Rename Your Photos by Where You Took Them

Batchio reads the GPS location from every geotagged photo and writes it into the name, with a live preview and full undo. Free with all 12 rule types, Pro upgrade $4.99.

Download Batchio
Marcel Iseli
Marcel Iseli

Creator of Batchio · Indie App Developer

LinkedIn ↗

Marcel Iseli is an indie app developer and the creator of Batchio. He builds native macOS utilities focused on productivity and file management.