Fix Google Takeout photo dates
Exported your photos from Google Photos and they all show today's date? Drop the export folder here and the original date is written back into each photo. Free for 30 photos at a time — and nothing is uploaded.
Why do Google Takeout photos have the wrong date?
Google Photos keeps the date you took a photo in its own database, not inside the image
file. A Google Takeout export puts that date in a separate .json file
beside each photo, so your computer shows the download date instead and years of memories
collapse onto one day. This free tool reads those json files and writes the original date
back into each photo's EXIF data, in your browser — no upload, no install, no scripts.
- Step 1 — unzip your Takeout
Unzip the archive Google gave you. Inside you'll find folders like "Google Photos/Photos from 2019" containing your images and a
.jsonfile for each one. - Step 2 — select the photos and their json files
Select both the images and the .json files together — the tool matches them up for you.
- Step 3 — fix and download
Frequently asked questions
Why do my Google Takeout photos have the wrong date?
Google Photos stores the date you took a photo in its own database, not always inside the image file. When you export with Takeout, that date comes out in a separate .json file next to each photo — so your computer falls back to the download date, and 15 years of memories all appear as "today".
What does this tool do?
It reads each photo’s matching .json file from your Takeout export and writes the original date back into the image itself (the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field), so any photo app or backup service sorts them correctly again.
Are my photos uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser on your own device — your photos and their metadata are never sent to a server. You can go offline after the page loads and it still works.
Which files are supported?
JPEG photos get the date written directly into the file. For PNG, HEIC and video files, browsers can’t safely rewrite embedded metadata yet — those are reported so you can handle them separately, and nothing is damaged.
What about weird filenames and edited copies?
Handled. Google truncates long sidecar names, moves the (1) on duplicates, uses "supplemental-metadata" in newer exports, and points edited copies at the original’s json. This tool checks all of those patterns — which is where most scripts fail.
Is there a limit?
Free fixes up to 30 photos at a time. Pro (a $29 one-time purchase) removes the limit — useful when your Takeout has thousands of photos.
Last updated: