Why the dates are wrong
- File dates are the export date. Takeout sets every file's modified date to the time the archive was made. Apps that sort by file date put everything on one day.
- Many files never had an EXIF date. WhatsApp and Telegram images, screenshots, scans, downloads and photos edited in Google Photos often carry no "date taken" inside the file. Google kept that date only in its database — and in the JSON file.
- Videos and Live Photos are sorted by file date in many apps, so they jump to the export day too. Some videos also carry no date inside, or only the time an app converted them — see Takeout videos with the wrong date.
- Time zone shifts: the JSON stores UTC. Tools that write it without converting move photos by a few hours, sometimes across midnight.
How to fix the dates
- Drop all your Takeout ZIP parts above (or choose the extracted folder).
- Check the time zone — your computer's zone is preselected — and leave Replace dates the camera already wrote off unless you edited dates in Google Photos.
- Click Fix and save, extract the fixed ZIP and import the folder into your photo app.
What the date is written into
| File type | Inside the file | File date after extracting |
|---|---|---|
| JPEG | EXIF DateTimeOriginal, CreateDate, ModifyDate, offset; GPS if missing | yes |
| HEIC | the same EXIF fields, if the photo has an EXIF block and they are missing | yes |
| MP4, MOV, M4V, 3GP | creation time in the movie and track headers, if empty or only the upload time | yes |
| PNG, GIF, WebP | not changed | yes |
| AVI, MKV, WebM and other videos | not changed | yes |
iPhone HEIC photos and most camera videos already contain their date, so for them the file date is the part that was missing. Dates the camera wrote are kept unless you choose to replace them.
Check before you import
The Browse archive tab lists every file with the date it will get and the JSON it was matched with; the CSV report has the same for your records.
Frequently asked questions
Will it overwrite the dates my camera wrote?
Not by default. If a JPEG or HEIC already has a "date taken" (DateTimeOriginal) or GPS position, it is kept. A video keeps a plausible recording date in its header; a video date that is empty, before 1970, or only the upload or processing time (on or after the upload of a video taken earlier) is replaced. Turn on Replace dates and locations the camera already wrote if you changed dates in Google Photos and want those instead.
Which time zone are the dates in?
Google stores the moment a photo was taken in UTC. The tool converts it to the time zone you choose — your computer's zone by default — and also writes the UTC offset (OffsetTimeOriginal) so apps can show the exact moment. Video headers store UTC by definition, so videos get the exact moment and apps show it in their own zone. Photos taken while travelling will show the time in the zone you picked, not the local time of the trip.
Some photos are still on the export date after fixing. Why?
They had no JSON file the tool could match and no date in their name — see the Not matched tab. Usually a ZIP part was missing; add all parts and run it again.
Does extracting keep the file dates?
Yes with Windows Explorer, macOS Archive Utility, 7-Zip and unzip: the fixed ZIP stores each date both in the classic ZIP format and as an exact UTC timestamp. Copying files afterwards normally keeps the modified date too.
What happens to photos and videos without a JSON file?
If the file name holds a date, that date is used: IMG_20190704_150000.jpg, VID_20190101_101010.mp4, PXL_20190809_203449253.jpg (Pixel, in UTC), Screenshot_20190305-101010.png, 20190704_150000.jpg (Samsung) and WhatsApp's IMG-20190812-WA0003.jpg. Names are read in the time zone you picked. A name date only fills a file that has no date inside — camera data is never replaced by it — and WhatsApp names give only the day, so those get a file date (noon) and nothing inside. The report marks them "from name"; untick the option to leave such files as they are. Files without a JSON file and without a date in the name keep their bytes and their ZIP date.
Which files get their date written inside?
JPEG photos get the date (and, if missing, the location) written into their EXIF data, the place photo apps read first. HEIC photos get the same in their EXIF block when they have one, as iPhone photos do; a HEIC without an EXIF block gets the file date only. MP4, MOV, M4V and 3GP videos get the date in their movie and track headers — the "creation time" video apps read — changed in place, without re-encoding. PNG, GIF, WebP, AVI, MKV and other formats are not modified: they get the date as their file date (the "modified" date) when you extract the fixed ZIP.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. The ZIP files are read by your browser on your own computer and the fixed archive is written there too. Nothing is sent to a server — you can disconnect from the internet after the page has loaded and it still works.