I will read this thoroughly. Thank you!
Probably should have figured it out myself.
Yes, images, especially photos, usually contain EXIF data - GPS coordinates, device type, device name etc etc etc
https://www.howtogeek.com/203592/what-is-exif-data-and-how-to-remove-it/
Discussion
So there’s one setting which I had turned off previously in settings/privacy/location services/camera. Seems that toggles on/off geolocation. I find it hard to believe thats all the EXIF data though.