How do I fix photo dates from Google Takeout?
PhotoDate Fixer is a free tool that writes the real date taken from Google's .json files back into Takeout photos and videos. Drop all your Takeout .zip files above and press Fix dates; you get the fixed photos in the same folders. Nothing is uploaded.
Why are the dates wrong after a Google Takeout export?
When you export Google Photos with Takeout, every file gets the date you downloaded it. For photos taken with a camera app the real date is still inside the photo, but screenshots, WhatsApp and Messenger images, downloads, scans and many videos have no date inside at all. Google keeps their date taken, location and description in a separate .json file next to each photo, which Windows, macOS, Apple Photos and other gallery apps ignore. The result: years of photos sorted under the day you exported them.
What does PhotoDate Fixer change?
| File | What is fixed |
|---|---|
| JPEG photos | EXIF date taken (DateTimeOriginal), time zone offset and, if missing, GPS location. Camera data, maker notes and the picture itself stay untouched. |
| MP4 and MOV videos | The video's creation date, read by phones, Google Photos, Apple Photos and Windows. |
| HEIC, PNG, GIF, WebP, RAW | The file's date in the ZIP, which becomes its "modified" date when you extract it. |
| Every photo and video | The file date, so the folder sorts correctly by date. |
Photos that already have a date inside keep it, unless you turn off Keep dates already inside a photo. Nothing is re-compressed: only the metadata changes, so the quality stays exactly the same.
How are photos matched to their JSON files?
Takeout names its JSON files in several inconsistent ways, and the tool handles all of the common ones:
IMG_1234.jpg.jsonand the newerIMG_1234.jpg.supplemental-metadata.json- Names cut short when they are long, for example
…supplemental-metad.jsonor a shortened photo name - Duplicates, where
IMG_1234(1).jpgbelongs toIMG_1234.jpg(1).json - Edited copies such as
IMG_1234-edited.jpg, which use the original's JSON - The video half of a Live Photo,
IMG_1234.MP4, which uses the photo's JSON - Photos and JSON files that ended up in different ZIP parts
Anything that can't be matched is still copied with its original date and listed in the report, so nothing is lost.
Can it handle a very large Takeout export?
Yes. The tool reads Takeout ZIPs piece by piece instead of loading them into memory: in our tests 33,000 photos took 8 seconds and a 1.2 GB video was handled without extra memory. You need free disk space for the result, about as much as the photos themselves. In Chrome and Edge, saving into a folder avoids the extra ZIP step; in Firefox and Safari the result comes as ZIP parts of the size you pick.
How to fix your Google Photos export, step by step
- Export Google Photos with Google Takeout and download all the .zip parts. You don't need to extract them.
- Drop all the .zip files at once into the box above, or choose the folder you already extracted them to.
- Check the time zone (your own is selected) and the options, then press Fix dates.
- Download each ZIP part when it is ready, or in Chrome and Edge choose Fix and save into a folder.
- Extract the ZIP and import the photos into Apple Photos, Windows Photos, Immich, a NAS or a new Google account.
Questions
Why do my Google Takeout photos have the wrong date?
Takeout gives every file the date you downloaded it, and for many photos (screenshots, WhatsApp images, edited copies) the date taken is not inside the photo at all. Google keeps it in a separate .json file next to each photo, which gallery apps ignore.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. Your browser reads the Takeout files on your own device and writes the fixed copies there. No photo, video or JSON file is sent to Okviro Tools or anyone else.
Does it change the quality of my photos?
No. Only the metadata is changed. The picture data is copied byte for byte, so there is no re-compression and no quality loss. Existing EXIF data such as camera model and settings is kept.
My Takeout is split into many ZIP files. Is that a problem?
No. Choose all the parts at once. A photo and its JSON file are often in different parts, and the tool reads all of them together, so they are still matched.
What happens to HEIC, PNG and other formats?
JPEG photos get the date and GPS written into EXIF, and MP4 and MOV videos get their creation date set. Every other file, such as HEIC, PNG, GIF and RAW, gets the correct file date in the ZIP, which Windows, macOS and most photo apps use when the photo has no date inside.
Why does it say no JSON was found for some files?
Google does not create a JSON file for every item, and sometimes it is missing from the export. Those files are still copied, unchanged, with their original date. The report lists them so you can check them.
Which time zone should I choose?
Google saves the exact moment in UTC but not the time zone the photo was taken in. Your own time zone is right for most photos; photos from a trip abroad will show your home time. Choose UTC if you want the times exactly as Google stores them.