Restore Your Google Photos Dates & Metadata
Google Takeout separates your photos and videos from their metadata into disconnected .json sidecar files. TakeoutFix automatically pairs them back and restores original capture dates, GPS locations, and camera metadata — entirely on your device.
How TakeoutFix processes your library
What Problem Does TakeoutFix Solve?
Google specifically documents that downloaded files can receive new filesystem timestamps and that additional metadata appears in separate JSON files (Google Help).
Disconnected Media & Broken Timestamps
When you download your archive, all your photos are dumped alongside matching .json files. Your operating system sets the file creation date to today, flattening your photo timeline completely.
Re-Embedded EXIF & Restored Timeline
TakeoutFix parses the JSON sidecar, extracts the true capture time and GPS coordinates, and writes them directly into the photo or video's binary EXIF headers. The JSON files are cleaned up, leaving ready-to-use media files.
Is my photo library uploaded to your servers?
No. TakeoutFix operates entirely within your browser or on your desktop. Your photos, videos, and JSON metadata are never uploaded to any cloud or server.
When you choose a folder in the web application, your browser uses the modern, standard File System Access API to grant temporary, local-only read/write access to that specific directory. Processing occurs inside isolated client-side Web Workers. You can even disconnect your internet connection while TakeoutFix runs and it will continue repairing your files without interruption.
Step-by-Step Restoration Guide
Follow these six quick steps to export from Google and restore your entire library.
Detailed export instructions ▼
Click "Deselect all" at the top of the list, then check Google Photos only. This prevents downloading unrelated data.
Optionally deselect auto-generated year folders if you only want specific albums.
Download your archive
Choose your archive split size and download all generated ZIP parts.
Split size recommendations ▼
We recommend selecting 10GB or 50GB archive sizes if you have a large library to avoid dozens of small ZIP parts.
Extract the ZIPs into a folder
Extract the downloaded archives into a local directory on your drive.
Extraction tips ▼
Windows: Right-click each ZIP file and choose "Extract All...".
Mac: Double-click each ZIP file in Finder to extract with Archive Utility.
Folder selection details ▼
Choose the parent Google Photos folder. TakeoutFix automatically traverses all nested albums and sidecars.
Restore Metadata
Click "Start Restore" to begin parallel client-side metadata injection.
Engine options ▼
Toggle chronological subfolder organization or keep your original folder layout with live matching logs.
Save or import your library
Files are saved with intact EXIF capture dates, GPS tags, and camera metadata.
Import instructions ▼
Drag photos directly into Apple Photos, Google Photos web, Immich, or your personal NAS drive.
Real-World Metadata Inspection
TakeoutFix writes standard EXIF and QuickTime metadata tags without recompressing your images.
Capabilities & Boundaries
Clear, honest transparency about exactly what TakeoutFix fixes and what it intentionally leaves untouched.
✓ What TakeoutFix Restores
❌ What TakeoutFix Does NOT Do
Multi-Stage Matching Pipeline
Google Takeout frequently alters filenames by truncating strings, appending -edited or adding copy counters like (1). TakeoutFix handles this with a deterministic 5-stage heuristic.
Exact Filename Match
Pairs direct matches such as photo.jpg.json or photo.json.
Supplemental Sidecars
Detects newer Google formats ending in .supplemental-metadata.json.
Edited & Copy Suffixes
Normalizes tags like -edited, (1), and -COLLAGE back to original sidecars.
Truncation Resolution
Reconciles files trimmed by Google's internal 47 and 51 character limiters.
Timestamp & Filename Date Fallback
If a sidecar is missing entirely, the engine parses embedded date strings (e.g. IMG_20220815_142312.jpg) or interpolates from adjacent media.
Supported Media Formats
Works with all standard photo and video formats exported by Google Photos.
📷 Photos & Images
🎥 Videos & Live Photos
How to Put the Fixed Photos Back on Your Phone
Don't just drag and drop the folders via USB cable, or your phone will mess up the dates again. Instead, send them to your phone using AirDrop (for iPhone) or Google Photos (for Android) to keep the dates perfect.
Apple iPhone, iPad & Mac
- ✓ AirDrop (.zip): AirDrop the restored ZIP archive directly from Mac to your iPhone. Open it in the native Files app and uncompress it to preserve both embedded EXIF and iOS filesystem dates.
- ✓ iCloud Photos Web: Log in to iCloud.com on your computer and drag-and-drop the restored photos. Apple's servers read the embedded EXIF dates and sort them accurately.
- ⚠️ Avoid Finder USB Sync: Syncing folders via Finder/iTunes USB can overwrite filesystem creation dates with the sync time.
Android & Google Devices
- ✓ Files by Google: Transfer your restored ZIP to your phone via USB or Quick Share, then tap "Extract" in Files by Google. Android gallery apps will immediately index the embedded EXIF dates.
- ✓ Google Photos Web: Drag your restored files to photos.google.com in your computer browser. They will sync cleanly back to your phone's cloud gallery.
- ⚠️ Avoid MTP Raw Copy: Copying loose folders directly via Android USB MTP can cause some gallery apps to display the transfer time instead of the EXIF capture time.
Something Went Wrong? Troubleshooting Guide
Solutions to the most common questions encountered when repairing Google Takeout archives.
“My photo dates still show today's date in Windows Explorer / Mac Finder.”
Windows Explorer and Mac Finder by default display the "Date Created" or "Date Modified" column (when the file was copied). Right-click column headers in Windows to show "Date Taken", or view images in Apple Photos, Google Photos, or Lightroom to see true embedded EXIF dates.
“Some files are in the unmatched-files report or metadata_not_found.”
Occasionally, Google Photos creates animated GIFs or burst frames without companion JSON sidecars. TakeoutFix automatically uses fallback filename timestamps or preserves them safely in an unmatched directory so nothing is ever lost.
“My GPS location was not restored on some photos.”
TakeoutFix only injects GPS coordinates if location services were enabled on your camera and present in Google's JSON sidecar. If location was disabled when shot, Google sidecars have (0.0, 0.0), which TakeoutFix safely avoids injecting.
“Can I undo the restoration?”
Yes! TakeoutFix writes restored copies to a new destination folder. Because your original Google Takeout folder or ZIP archive is never modified or overwritten, you can simply delete the restored folder at any time.
“I have tens of thousands of photos and the browser tab feels heavy.”
While the web tool uses background Web Workers, browser security sandboxes limit heap memory. For massive libraries (over 50,000 photos or 100GB+ archives), we recommend processing in album batches or using our Native Desktop Application, which runs a multi-threaded parallel engine with zero browser memory limits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Clear answers to common questions about Google Takeout metadata restoration.
Why does Google Takeout create separate JSON files? ▼
.json sidecar files.
Why are all my photo dates changed to today after downloading? ▼
Does TakeoutFix work on Mac, Windows, and Linux? ▼
Will image or video quality change after restoration? ▼
Can TakeoutFix handle edited photos with "-edited" suffixes? ▼
-edited suffix and maps it back to the original sidecar JSON file.
Can I process a multi-part Google Takeout archive? ▼
How TakeoutFix Works Under the Hood
For software engineers and photographers who want to understand the exact technical mechanics: TakeoutFix operates across three client-side phases.
PHASE 01 How TakeoutFix finds your files (Local Directory Indexing)
Using the W3C File System Access API, the engine traverses directory trees asynchronously via background Web Workers. It indexes media assets into high-performance in-memory hash maps while indexing candidate sidecars to avoid main-thread UI jank.
PHASE 02 Matching media with its metadata (Heuristic Pairing)
Google Takeout introduces edge cases including truncated 47-character names, copy numbers, and edited suffixes. The heuristic resolves these variants before performing a schema integrity check against the JSON photoTakenTime.timestamp field.
PHASE 03 How metadata is restored (Binary Header Injection)
Once matched, the engine writes Unix epoch timestamps and coordinates into native binary headers: DateTimeOriginal, CreateDate, and GPS IFD blocks for JPEG/HEIC/PNG, and QuickTime user-data atoms (udta, mvhd) for MP4/MOV videos without re-encoding.
Ready to restore your Google Takeout library?
Repair your photo dates, GPS coordinates, and album structure directly on your computer. 100% private with no files uploaded.