Yes, I get it. It is inconvenient for legitimate uses. The problem is that our devices leak too much confidential data. Privacy was mentioned outright in the article. Safety/security was alluded to with an example, which is something that goes far beyond a company's image or even liability.

Unfortunately, there is no good way to solve the problem while maintaining convenience. As the author noted, prompts while uploading don't really work. Application defaults don't really work for web browsers, since what is acceptable for one website isn't necessarily acceptable for another. Having the user enter the location through the website make the user aware of the information being disclosed, but it is inconvenient.

Does the situation suck? Yes. On the other hand, I think Google is doing the responsible thing here.

Agreed. The default for a web browser should be maximum privacy/minimum sharing/minimum trust. If they want to access photos with geolocation they can make an app instead of a website, then the app can explictly ask for this permission. Too much trouble? Well then I guess it won't get done. Not the end of the world.