Google Takeout Photos Wrong Date - Why It Happens & How to Fix It

You downloaded your Google Photos library via Takeout, expecting years of memories organized by date. Instead, every single photo shows today's date. Your 2015 vacation photos are mixed with yesterday's screenshots. Your photo library is chaos. Here's why this happens and how to fix it.

Why Your Google Takeout Photos Have Wrong Dates

When you upload photos to Google Photos, something happens behind the scenes: Google extracts all the metadata from your photos (dates, GPS coordinates, camera info) and stores it separately in their database. The actual image files are processed and re-encoded for efficient storage.

When you download via Google Takeout, you don't get your original files back. You get Google's processed versions - and they don't have the EXIF metadata embedded anymore. Instead, Google provides that information in separate JSON "sidecar" files.

What You'll See After Downloading

After extracting your Takeout zip files, you'll notice several frustrating issues:

• All photos show today's date: In Finder, Explorer, or any photo app, the "Date Taken" field shows when you downloaded the file, not when the photo was actually taken.
• Photos sort incorrectly: Import them into Apple Photos, and a decade of memories gets dumped into a single day.
• No location data: The GPS coordinates that let you search "photos from Paris" are missing from the files.
• Mysterious JSON files everywhere: For every photo, there's a matching .json file cluttering your folders.

The JSON Sidecar Files Explained

Those JSON files next to each photo contain all your original metadata. Here's what one looks like:

{
  "title": "IMG_1234.jpg",
  "photoTakenTime": {
    "timestamp": "1436486400",
    "formatted": "Jul 10, 2015, 12:00:00 AM UTC"
  },
  "geoData": {
    "latitude": 48.8584,
    "longitude": 2.2945,
    "altitude": 35.0
  },
  "googlePhotosOrigin": {
    "mobileUpload": {
      "deviceType": "IOS_PHONE"
    }
  }
}

The photoTakenTime field contains your original timestamp. The geoData field has the GPS coordinates (that's the Eiffel Tower in the example above). All the information you need is right there - it just needs to be written back into the photo's EXIF data.

The JSON Matching Problem

To make things more complicated, Google's JSON file naming isn't always straightforward. You might see:

IMG_1234.jpg
IMG_1234.jpg.json

IMG_5678.HEIC
IMG_5678.HEIC.json

vacation-photo.jpg
vacation-photo.json

PXL_20230415_143022.jpg
PXL_20230415_143022.jpg(1).json

Sometimes the extension is included in the JSON filename, sometimes it's not. Duplicate photos get numbered suffixes. Edited photos have their own JSON files. Manually matching thousands of these files would take days.

How to Fix Google Takeout Wrong Timestamps

You have two options: do it manually with command-line tools, or use a dedicated app that handles all the edge cases for you.

Option 1: The Manual Approach

Tools like exiftool can read JSON files and write metadata to images. You'll need to:

1. Install exiftool on your system
2. Write a script to match each photo with its JSON file (handling all the naming variations)
3. Parse the JSON timestamp format and convert it to EXIF format
4. Handle edge cases: duplicates, edited photos, live photos, videos
5. Process each file individually

Sounds straightforward, right? It's not. Google's filename matching is a nightmare - sometimes the JSON includes the file extension, sometimes it doesn't. Filenames get truncated at 46 characters. Edited photos have different names than their JSON files. Live Photos are split into two files that need to be matched separately. Duplicates get numbered suffixes like (1) that don't line up with the JSON. Videos need completely different EXIF tags than photos. And if you get the timezone wrong, your photos end up on the wrong day entirely.

We've spent years building and refining the matching logic to handle all these edge cases. If you go the manual route, expect a lot of trial and error - and probably some photos with wrong dates that you won't notice until later.

Option 2: Use Metadata Fixer

Metadata Fixer is built specifically for this problem. It handles all the complexity automatically:

• Smart matching: Finds the right JSON file for each photo, even when Google's naming is messy.
• Works with zip files: No need to extract gigabytes of files first.
• Fixes timezones: Figures out the correct timezone from where the photo was taken, so your vacation photos don't end up on the wrong day.
• All your files: Photos, videos, Live Photos, and even camera RAW files.
• Pause and resume: Processing a huge library? Stop anytime and continue later - even days later.
• Handles errors gracefully: Problem files get moved to a separate folder so you can deal with them without reprocessing everything.

Step-by-Step: Fixing Your Dates

Step 1: Download Metadata Fixer

Get the app for your platform (Windows or Mac) from the download page.

Step 2: Select Your Takeout Files

Drag and drop your Takeout zip files into the app, or click to browse. You can add multiple zip files at once - no need to extract them.

Step 3: Choose Output Location

Select where you want your fixed photos saved. Make sure you have enough disk space - the output will be similar in size to your original library.

Step 4: Process

Click "Start" and let the app work. It will:

• Extract photos from the zip files
• Match each photo with its JSON sidecar
• Read the original timestamps and GPS data
• Write the metadata into new copies of your photos

Processing speed depends on your library size and computer. The app uses parallel processing with multiple ExifTool instances, and you can pause anytime and resume later - your progress is saved automatically.

Step 5: Import to Your Photo Library

Once processing is complete, import the fixed photos into Apple Photos, Google Photos, or your preferred photo management app. They'll now have the correct dates and will sort properly in your timeline.

What Metadata Gets Restored

The JSON sidecar files contain more than just dates. Here's everything Metadata Fixer puts back into your photos:

• Date and time taken: Your photos will finally sort in the right order.
• Timezone: Photos from your trip to Japan won't show up on the wrong day anymore.
• GPS location: See your photos on a map and search by location.
• Descriptions: Captions you wrote in Google Photos.
• People: Names from Google Photos face tagging.
• File dates: Even your file browser will show the correct date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my Google Takeout photos show the wrong date?

Google strips EXIF metadata from your photos and stores the original dates in separate JSON sidecar files. When you download via Takeout, the photos themselves have no embedded date information, so your computer shows the download date instead of when the photo was taken.

Why are all my photos showing the same date after Takeout?

This happens because the actual photo files don't contain date metadata - only the JSON sidecar files do. When you import photos without merging the JSON data first, your photo app uses the file's creation date (when you downloaded it) instead of when the photo was actually taken.

Will my photos import to Apple Photos / iCloud with correct dates?

Only if you fix the metadata first. Apple Photos reads the EXIF data embedded in the file - it doesn't know about Google's JSON files. Run your Takeout through Metadata Fixer first, then import to Apple Photos.

Can I transfer Google Photos to my Synology NAS with correct dates?

Yes, but you need to fix the metadata first. Synology Photos reads EXIF data from the files, not Google's JSON sidecars. Process your Takeout with Metadata Fixer, then upload to your NAS. Your photos will sort correctly in Synology Photos.

Why do my videos show the wrong date but photos are fine?

Videos use different metadata tags than photos, and Google handles them differently. Some videos may have partial metadata while others have none. Metadata Fixer handles videos specifically, writing to the correct QuickTime and MP4 timestamp fields.

Why do some photos show December 31, 1979?

This usually means the photo has corrupted or missing timestamp data. It's a common fallback date when software can't read a valid timestamp. Metadata Fixer can restore the correct date from the JSON file if one exists.

Do I need to process all my Takeout zip files at once?

Yes - add all your zip files together. Google splits exports across multiple zips and often puts a photo in one zip and its JSON metadata in a different zip. The app needs to see everything to match them correctly. Don't worry about size - it's designed to handle terabytes.

Do I need to extract the Takeout zip files first?

No. Metadata Fixer can process the zip files directly without extracting them first. This saves disk space and time.

What about Live Photos from my iPhone?

Live Photos are split into a HEIC image and a MOV video file. Metadata Fixer automatically pairs them together and fixes the dates on both parts, so they stay linked when you import to Apple Photos.

My vacation photos are showing on the wrong day. Why?

This is usually a timezone issue. Photos taken in Tokyo might show as the previous day if imported with your home timezone. Metadata Fixer detects the correct timezone from GPS data and applies it, so your photos appear on the right day.