PhotoFixer

Fix Google Takeout photo dates and locations

Google Takeout gives your photos the download date and hides the real one in a .json file. PhotoFixer writes the date, place and caption back into every photo, so your library sorts by when it happened.

Your photos are processed on this device and never uploaded.

Ready to fix

Folders

How it works

  1. Download your library from Google Takeout (Google Photos only is enough).
  2. Open every zip part here, pick the time zone and how to arrange folders, and press Fix my photos.
  3. Unzip the result and import it into iCloud Photos, Immich, Synology Photos or any folder. Dates, places and captions are back.

Frequently asked questions

Why are my Google Photos dates wrong after Takeout?

Takeout keeps each photo's original file, but the date, location and description that Google Photos knows are written to a separate .json file next to it. Photos that never had a date inside the file (WhatsApp images, screenshots, downloads) and the file dates themselves end up with the export date, so other apps sort them wrongly.

What does PhotoFixer change?

For JPEG photos without EXIF it writes the capture date (with the time zone offset), the location and the description from the .json. For MP4 and MOV videos it sets the creation date. Every file in the result zip gets its real capture time as the file date. JPEG photos that already have EXIF keep everything they have and only get the fields they lack, such as a location added in Google Photos.

Are my photos uploaded?

No. The zips are read and written inside your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, which is why it also works with very large exports. You can check it in your browser's developer tools: the Network tab shows no upload while the tool works, even with a file of several gigabytes.

How large can the export be?

In Chrome and Edge the result is written straight to your disk, so exports of tens of gigabytes work. Other browsers build the result in memory: fine for a few gigabytes, so use Chrome or Edge for big libraries.

Which time zone should I choose?

The zone where most photos were taken. Google stores the time in UTC, and EXIF needs local time, so the zone is used to convert it. The offset is saved too, so modern apps show the right time anywhere.

What about HEIC photos and Live Photos?

HEIC files from phones normally keep their own date inside the file and are copied as they are, with the correct file date. The video part of a Live Photo gets the date from the photo's .json.

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