Fix Google Takeout Dates — Restore Original Timestamps
Downloaded your photos from Google Takeout and they all show today's date? That's because Google strips the original "Date Taken" from your images and stores it in separate JSON files. TakeoutFix reads those JSON sidecars and writes the correct timestamps back into your photo EXIF headers — instantly.
Why Do Google Takeout Dates Go Wrong?
When you export your Google Photos library using Google Takeout, the platform creates a ZIP archive containing your raw image files alongside .json sidecar files.
The problem: the actual photo files (.jpg, .mp4) have their EXIF "Date Taken" field stripped or overwritten with the export date. The real date is only stored in the companion JSON file.
When you import these photos into Apple Photos, Windows Gallery, Synology, or any other app, the system reads the file's EXIF header — which now shows the wrong date. Your 2015 vacation photos appear as if they were taken today.
How TakeoutFix Restores Your Dates
Select Takeout Folder
Open TakeoutFix and select your extracted Google Takeout folder. The engine recursively scans for all photo files and their matching JSON sidecars.
Match JSON Sidecars
TakeoutFix's fuzzy matching engine handles truncated filenames, edited copies, and Google's naming quirks to correctly pair each photo with its JSON metadata.
Dates Restored
The original "Date Taken" timestamp is written directly into the EXIF header of each photo — no quality loss, no recompression. Your gallery timeline is fixed.
Which Date Fields Get Fixed?
Fix Google Takeout Dates — FAQ
Why do all my Google Takeout photos show today's date?
Google Takeout exports the photo file without the original EXIF date. The file creation date becomes the export date. TakeoutFix reads the correct date from the JSON sidecar and writes it back into the photo's EXIF header.
Will fixing dates affect photo quality?
No. TakeoutFix modifies only the EXIF header bytes — it never recompresses or alters the actual image data. Your photo quality is 100% preserved.
Does TakeoutFix fix dates for videos too?
Yes. TakeoutFix fixes dates on MP4, MOV, and other video formats from Google Takeout. The original creation timestamp is restored from the JSON sidecar.