Why Google Takeout photos show the wrong date, and how to fix them

Description and use

Google Takeout exports photos with incorrect dates. Use ExifTool or ExportFixer to restore correct timestamps and GPS data.

Problem

Google Takeout exports photos without correct timestamps, causing all photos to appear as taken today.

Outcome

After applying the ExifTool command or ExportFixer, photos retain their original timestamps and GPS data.

Workflow

• Export photos via Google Takeout.
• Unzip all parts into a single folder.
• Run ExifTool with the provided command to copy metadata from the JSON files.
• Verify a few photos before deleting originals.
• (Optional) Use ExportFixer in the browser for non‑script users.

Evidence

Google Photos keeps the date you see in the app in its own database. Takeout exports that as a separate .json file next to each photo, with photoTakenTime and geoData inside.

Source

If you're comfortable on the command line, ExifTool can copy the date in:

Source

I built ExportFixer for people who don't want to script this. You drop all the Takeout zips in, it matches every naming variant, writes the date and GPS into each photo and video, removes the album duplicates and sorts everything by year and month.

Source