Blog

Plain explanations of what goes wrong with Google Takeout photo exports, what the .json files are, and how to get your dates and places back.

• How Do I Delete Files From Google Takeout?
  30 September 2026

  How do I delete files from Google Takeout? Delete the downloaded zip parts on your computer and any copy in Drive. Your Google Photos stay untouched.

• What Is Supplemental JPEG Data? Keep It or Delete It?
  30 September 2026

  It is the .jpg.supplemental-metadata.json file Google Takeout adds to each photo, with its date taken, GPS and caption. Not a virus. Delete it only after merging.

• Google Takeout Photos Wrong Date? Why and How to Fix It
  22 May 2026

  Takeout photos show the download date because the real date is in a .json file next to each photo, not in the photo. How to check, and how to write it back.

• How Long Does Google Takeout Take? Times by Export Size
  1 October 2026

  2 GB: minutes to an hour. Tens of GB: hours to a day. Hundreds of GB: one to two days or more. Why Google Takeout is slow, and how to tell if it is stuck.

• How to Download All Your Google Photos (and Keep the Right Dates)
  11 October 2026

  Download Google Photos step by step with Google Takeout, every setting explained, then fix the wrong dates, the .json files and the albums it leaves behind.

• Google Photos Backup: Copy It to a Drive, NAS or PC by Date
  11 October 2026

  How to back up Google Photos to an external drive, a NAS or your PC with Google Takeout, keep the real dates, sort into Year/Month or albums, and keep it current.

• ExifTool for Google Takeout: Commands to Fix the Dates (Tested)
  11 October 2026

  Tested exiftool commands that copy photoTakenTime and GPS from Google Takeout .json files into your photos, fix file dates on Windows, and handle the cut-off names.

• How to Change the Date of WhatsApp Photos on Android
  19 October 2026

  WhatsApp photos on Android land on the wrong day in the gallery. Step by step, how to give every WhatsApp image the date in its file name and put it back on the phone.

• Unzip Photos and Keep Their Original Dates
  16 October 2026

  Why photos from a .zip, .7z or .tar archive sometimes all show the same date, which unzip tools keep each file's date, and how to get the real date back.

• Sort Android Photos into Folders by Year and Month
  16 October 2026

  DCIM/Camera on an Android phone holds thousands of photos in one folder. How to sort them into Year and Month folders on the phone, without losing dates or breaking the gallery.

• How to Turn On USB Debugging on Android (Samsung, Xiaomi, Pixel, vivo)
  16 October 2026

  Turn on Developer options and USB debugging on any Android phone, with the exact menu names for Samsung, Xiaomi, Pixel, vivo, OPPO and OnePlus, and what to do when the computer still does not see the phone.

• How to Rename Photos on Android in Bulk (With Date or Place)
  16 October 2026

  Rename many photos on an Android phone at once, for example IMG_20250518_184248.jpg to IMG_20250518_184248_Macau.jpg, without copying them off the phone and without changing their dates.

• How to Change the Date of a Photo on Android
  16 October 2026

  Change a photo's date on an Android phone in Google Photos or Samsung Gallery, why the change often stays inside one app, and how to fix the date in the file itself.

• Fix Photo File Dates on Android with adb
  16 October 2026

  Set the file date of photos on an Android phone from a computer with adb and touch, so the gallery puts screenshots, chat images and copied photos back on the right day.

• Copy Photos to Android Without Changing the Date
  16 October 2026

  A normal USB "File transfer" copy stamps photos with today's date. How to copy photos from a computer to an Android phone so every photo keeps its own date.

• How to Keep Your Google Photos Backup Up to Date
  11 October 2026

  A simple routine to keep a Google Photos backup current on a drive, NAS or PC, with Takeout every few months and only the new photos added, dates intact.

• How to Download a Google Photos Album (Whole Album, Right Dates)
  11 October 2026

  Download a whole Google Photos album as a zip from the website, or with Google Takeout for big albums, and keep the dates the photos were taken.

• How to Download Google Photos to Your PC (Windows 10 and 11)
  11 October 2026

  Download Google Photos to a Windows PC in bulk with Google Takeout, unzip the parts, fix the dates Windows gets wrong and put the photos in your Pictures folder.

• Google Photos Backup to a NAS: Synology, QNAP and Others, Dates Intact
  11 October 2026

  Back up Google Photos to a Synology, QNAP or other NAS with Google Takeout, fix the dates before copying, and get a timeline that is right in Synology Photos and QuMagie.

• ExifTool: Change Date Taken (Set, Shift, From File Name)
  11 October 2026

  Tested ExifTool commands to change the date taken of photos and videos, shift times, read the date from the file name and set the file date, on Windows and Mac.

• ExifTool and supplemental-metadata.json: Why Your Command Skips Photos
  11 October 2026

  Google renamed Takeout sidecars to .supplemental-metadata.json in 2024, so older ExifTool commands skip photos. The patterns that match, including cut-off names.

• ExifTool GUI for Windows: 3 Ways to Edit Photo Dates Without Commands
  11 October 2026

  The ExifTool GUI options for Windows compared, from the free ExifToolGUI to point-and-click apps that change date taken, time zone and location in batches.

• Download Google Photos Without Takeout? What Works and the Limits
  11 October 2026

  Ways to download Google Photos without Google Takeout, on the website, the phone app and other tools, and the limits on size, dates and the .json files.

• Can I Download All My Google Photos at Once? Yes, Here Is How
  11 October 2026

  You can download all your Google Photos at once with Google Takeout, not from the app. The steps, how long it takes, the zip parts, and the date problem afterwards.

• GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper - A Better, Easier Alternative
  2 October 2026

  GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (GPTH) fixes Google Takeout dates, but it needs a terminal on Mac and Linux, exiftool, and it moves your files. Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer does the same job and more in one window, with no setup.

• How to View Photo Metadata on Mac: Date Taken, GPS, Camera
  1 October 2026

  How to view photo metadata on a Mac with Preview, Photos, Finder or Terminal. Where the date taken, GPS and camera are shown, and why some photos have none.

• How to Transfer Google Photos to iCloud and Keep the Dates
  1 October 2026

  How to transfer Google Photos to iCloud: Google's direct transfer, or Takeout plus Apple Photos. What the transfer misses and how to keep the dates.

• Do Screenshots Have Metadata? Why They Have No Date Taken
  1 October 2026

  Do screenshots have metadata? Some: size, software, sometimes a creation time, but no camera date taken. Where the date lives and how to restore it.

• Can't Open HEIC File on Windows? Why and How to Fix It
  1 October 2026

  Can't open a HEIC file on Windows? HEIC is Apple's photo format and Windows needs an extension for it. Install it, or convert to JPG and keep the dates.

• supplemental-metadata.json Meaning: What Is in the File
  30 September 2026

  supplemental-metadata.json is the Google Takeout file with one photo's date taken (photoTakenTime), GPS (geoData) and caption. Every field and name variant.

• photoTakenTime: the Date Field in Google Takeout JSON
  30 September 2026

  photoTakenTime is the field in each Google Takeout .json file that holds the date a photo was taken, as Unix seconds in UTC. How to read and use it.

• immich-go Missing Sidecar? The Causes and the Fix
  30 September 2026

  immich-go missing sidecar means it found no Takeout .json for a photo, so the date or GPS is lost. The five causes and how to fix them before upload.

• Why Are My Photos Out of Order on iPhone? Causes and Fixes
  30 September 2026

  Why are my photos out of order on iPhone? The library may sort by Recently Added, or the photos lack a date taken. How to check and fix each cause.

• What Is the Point of Google Takeout?
  30 September 2026

  What is the point of Google Takeout? It gives you a copy of your Google data to keep, back up, or move to another service. What you get for Photos.

• What Does Date Modified Mean? Date Modified vs Date Taken
  30 September 2026

  What does date modified mean? It is the last time a file was saved on this disk, not when the photo was taken. What changes it, and how to fix it.

• What Are JSON Files in Google Takeout? What They Hold
  30 September 2026

  Each .json file holds one photo's real date, location and caption. Delete them only after that data is written into the photos, or the dates are lost.

• Metadata Fixer Alternative: Offline, 500 Photos Free
  30 September 2026

  A Metadata Fixer alternative for Google Takeout: Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer runs offline on Windows and Mac, 500 photos free, then $19.99 once.

• Merge Google Takeout JSON Files to Photos: Step by Step
  30 September 2026

  Merge Google Takeout JSON files to photos: copy photoTakenTime and GPS from each .json into the photo's EXIF, with exiftool or an app, on Windows or Mac.

• Is Metadata Fixer Safe? What to Check Before You Run One
  30 September 2026

  Is a metadata fixer safe? It is when it runs on your own computer, leaves your originals alone and shows a preview. Six checks before you run one.

• Is Google Takeout Safe? Can It Be Trusted?
  30 September 2026

  Yes. Google Takeout is Google's own export at takeout.google.com: it runs in your account over HTTPS and only copies your data. Five things to check, and fake sites.

• Immich Sort by Upload Date: Why the Timeline Won't
  30 September 2026

  Immich sort by upload date: the timeline sorts by the date taken read from each file's metadata, not by upload date. Here is why, and how to fix the order.

• Immich Change Date: Fix Wrong Dates in Immich
  30 September 2026

  Immich change date: select the photos in the Immich web app and edit their date and time, or, for a whole library, fix the dates in the files first.

• How to Open a JSON Image File (It Is Not an Image)
  30 September 2026

  How to open a JSON image file: it is text, not a picture. Open it in Notepad or TextEdit to read the photo's date and place. Windows, Mac and phones.

• How to Change Date Taken on Photos in Windows 11
  30 September 2026

  How to change date taken on photos in Windows 11: Properties, Details for JPEG, one or many at once, and what works for HEIC, videos and large sets.

• How to Change Date Created on Photos in Windows 11
  30 September 2026

  File Explorer cannot change Date created. One PowerShell line can, for one photo or a whole folder; exiftool and a desktop app can too. And when to change Date taken.

• How to Back Up Google Photos to a Hard Drive, Dates Intact
  30 September 2026

  How to back up Google Photos to a hard drive: export with Google Takeout, fix the dates from the .json files, then copy. Steps for Windows and Mac.

• GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (GPTH): Download, Use, Neo Fork
  30 September 2026

  GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (GPTH) is a free tool that sorts a Google Takeout export. Where to download it, how to run it, GPTH Neo, and when to use an app.

• Google Takeout Limitations: 10 Things to Know First
  30 September 2026

  Dates in .json files instead of the photos, names cut at 46 characters, split zips, 7-day links, no incremental export, missing shared photos. The fix for each.

• Google Takeout JSON Files: Do I Need Them?
  30 September 2026

  Yes, until the date taken, GPS and caption in each Google Takeout .json file are written into the photos. Delete them first and those photos keep the download date.

• Google Takeout File Size: Which Zip Size, Zip or TGZ?
  30 September 2026

  Google Takeout file size is the size of each zip part, from 1 GB to 50 GB (2 GB default). Which to pick, zip vs tgz, and how to unpack every part.

• Does Google Takeout Reduce Photo Quality? No, With One Catch
  30 September 2026

  Does Google Takeout reduce photo quality? No. It returns the files Google stored. If you used Storage saver, those copies were already compressed.

• Does Google Takeout Delete Data? No. How to Delete It Safely After
  30 September 2026

  Google Takeout only copies your data; nothing is deleted from your account. If you want to delete afterwards, here is the safe order, including what to do with the .json files first.

• Date Taken Meaning: When the Camera Took the Photo
  30 September 2026

  Date taken is when the camera took the photo, stored in the file as EXIF DateTimeOriginal. It survives copying; date modified and date created do not. How to fix it.

• Can I Delete a JSON File? How to Tell If It Is Safe
  30 September 2026

  Yes, if no program uses it: old downloads, data exports, Google Takeout sidecars after merging. Keep app settings, game saves and project files. How to check.

• Can I Delete JSON Files From Google Takeout?
  30 September 2026

  Can I delete JSON files from Google Takeout? Yes, after their dates and GPS are written into the photos. Before that, you lose the dates for good.

• The Best Way to Edit Photo Metadata: Dates, GPS, Names
  22 September 2026

  How to change the date taken, time, GPS location and file names of your photos. Built-in tools for one photo, an honest comparison for thousands, and a walkthrough of each feature.

• Move Photos to a New Android Phone and Keep the Dates
  22 September 2026

  Photos show today's date on a new phone when the date is not inside the file. Write it into each photo's EXIF first, then any copy method keeps the order.

• How to Organize Photos Automatically: Folders, Names, Dates
  22 September 2026

  Fix the date inside each photo, name files by that date, then sort them into year, month or place folders. The free manual way and the automatic way.

• immich-go vs Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer: When You Need Which
  18 September 2026

  immich-go uploads a Google Takeout into an Immich server and is the right tool for that. Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer writes the metadata into the files themselves. They solve different problems, and sometimes you want both.

• exiftool vs Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer for Google Takeout
  18 September 2026

  exiftool is free and scriptable and will fix a Takeout export if you write the matching yourself. A row-by-row comparison with the desktop app, and who should pick which.

• Photo Metadata Editors Compared: What a Generic EXIF Editor Cannot Do With Takeout
  18 September 2026

  exiftool, ExifTool GUI, XnView MP, digiKam and Adobe Bridge all edit EXIF well. None of them read Google Takeout's JSON. Here is where each one shines, where they stop, and what a Takeout-specific fixer adds.

• Google Takeout Metadata Tools Compared (2026)
  18 September 2026

  exiftool, GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper, GPTH Neo, immich-go, MetadataFixer.com and Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer in one table, with a plain recommendation for each situation.

• How Do I Find Photos From a Certain Year?

  Searching by year only works when the photos carry a date. Here is how to get there.

• How Do I Import Google Takeout Into Nextcloud?

  Nextcloud Memories reads the date inside each photo. Fix that before you sync the folder up.

• Why Does Windows Explorer Show the Wrong Date for My Photos?
  4 September 2026

  Explorer shows file dates, not photo dates, and Takeout photos have no photo date at all. Here is what the columns mean and how to fix them.

• What Is the Easiest Way to Fix Google Takeout Metadata?
  3 September 2026

  Scripts, exiftool commands and web uploaders all work in theory. Here is an honest comparison and the option that needs no command line.

• Takeout Photos Out of Order? Date Taken vs File Date
  3 September 2026

  Why photos from a Google Takeout export sort in the wrong order in Finder, Explorer and phone galleries, and how to make every view agree.

• How Do I Organize Photos Into Year and Month Folders?

  Sort them by the date inside each photo, not the file date, or the folders will be wrong.

• Can I Undo the Changes if Something Goes Wrong?
  30 August 2026

  Yes, because your original export is never altered. Here is how the safety works.

• How Do I Fix Google Takeout Photo Dates on Windows?
  29 August 2026

  The full process on Windows, from unzipping the parts to checking the Date taken column in Explorer.

• Google Photos to a Synology NAS With Correct Dates
  29 August 2026

  How to move a Google Takeout export onto a Synology NAS so Synology Photos shows the right dates, with a folder layout that stays useful.

• Can I Fix Photos From My Old Phone the Same Way?
  26 August 2026

  Yes. The same problem appears whenever photos are copied off a phone. Here is what to do without Takeout.

• Why Is Google Takeout So Slow?
  25 August 2026

  Google builds your export from scratch and throttles it. Here is what actually speeds it up.

• What Are the Archive and Trash Folders in My Google Takeout?
  21 August 2026

  Your export has more folders than you expected. Here is what Archive, Trash, Bin and the untitled folders actually contain.

• Transfer Google Photos to a New Android Phone, Dates Intact
  21 August 2026

  Copied a Google Takeout to your Android phone and every photo says today? Write the dates from the .json files into the photos first, then copy them into DCIM.

• Why Did My Starred and Favourite Photos Disappear?
  20 August 2026

  Favourites are recorded in the .json sidecars, not in the photos. Here is how to find them before you delete the sidecars.

• Why Do All My Photos Have the Same Date After a Takeout Export?
  19 August 2026

  Every photo shows the day you downloaded the export. That is your computer guessing, because Google left the date out of the file. Here is the fix.

• PhotoPrism and JSON Sidecars From Google Takeout
  15 August 2026

  How PhotoPrism uses sidecar files, what it reads from Google Takeout .json files and what it does not, and how to prepare a Takeout export for it.

• How to Organize Photos by Year and Month Folders
  13 August 2026

  Why Year/Month folders work for most photo libraries, the alternatives, and how to sort thousands of photos into them by hand or with a tool.

• How Do I Check That My Photo Dates Are Actually Fixed?
  11 August 2026

  Do not trust a progress bar with your family photos. Here is how to verify the dates really landed, on any platform.

• How Do I Get My Google Photos Onto a New iPhone?
  10 August 2026

  The dates decide whether this works. Fix them before the photos reach the phone, not after.

• How Do I Move Google Photos to Another Google Account Without Losing Metadata?
  8 August 2026

  Copying a Takeout export into a second Google account loses your dates. Google ignores the .json files on upload. Here is what to do first.

• Google Takeout Videos Have the Wrong Date. Here Is Why
  7 August 2026

  Why videos from a Google Takeout export show the download date, where a video's date actually lives, MOV vs MP4, and how to set it right.

• What Should I Do First After Downloading Google Takeout?
  5 August 2026

  The first hour decides how painful the rest is. Here are the four steps to take before you import anything anywhere.

• Can I Keep My Albums When Leaving Google Photos?
  2 August 2026

  Albums survive as folders and nothing more. Here is what that means and what to do about it.

• How Do I Fix Takeout Dates Without Using the Command Line?
  1 August 2026

  Every popular guide hands you a terminal command. You do not need one. Here is the same job as a normal app.

• Convert HEIC to JPG From Google Takeout Without Losing Dates
  31 July 2026

  Why a Google Takeout export is full of HEIC files, how to convert them to JPG while keeping the date and GPS, and the odd HEIC that is really a JPEG.

• How Much Disk Space a Google Takeout Export Needs
  30 July 2026

  The zips, the unpacked folder and the organized library each take a full copy. How to count the space, pick a drive, and what happens when it fills.

• Why Do My Videos Not Play After Google Takeout?
  27 July 2026

  Old formats stop playing on modern devices. Takeout hands them back exactly as they were uploaded.

• Why Is My Photo Library Bigger After Fixing It?
  26 July 2026

  A corrected library sits alongside your export, so you briefly have two. Here is how to manage the space.

• Leaving Google Photos: the Complete Checklist
  24 July 2026

  Every step from requesting the Takeout export to checking the dates in your new photo library, in order, with the mistakes that cost people photos.

• Google Photos to iCloud: 3 Steps That Keep the Dates

  1. Download with Google Takeout. 2. Write the dates and places from the .json files into the photos. 3. Import into Apple Photos with iCloud Photos on.

• Is There a Free Way to Fix Google Takeout Dates?
  22 July 2026

  Yes, several. Here is an honest look at the free options and where the paid one earns its money.

• Rename Google Photos Files by Date After a Takeout Export
  21 July 2026

  Turn IMG_20190714_110530_1.jpg into 2019-07-14-1105_Paris.jpg using the real date from the Takeout sidecar, with names that sort right everywhere.

• Google Takeout Duplicates and "-edited" Files, Sorted Out
  21 July 2026

  Why a Google Takeout export has more files than your library, what the -edited copies and album duplicates are, and how to merge without keeping two of everything.

• Do I Need to Keep the Google Takeout Zip Files?
  21 July 2026

  Keep them until your fixed library is checked and backed up. Here is what to verify before deleting anything.

• Why Does My Takeout Have Folders I Do Not Recognise?
  20 July 2026

  Untitled albums, Archive, Bin and year folders. Here is what each one actually holds.

• How Do I Import Google Takeout Into Nextcloud Properly?
  20 July 2026

  Nextcloud Memories sorts by EXIF date, which Google Takeout photos do not have. Fix the files before you upload, not after.

• Why Does My Photo App Show Two Copies of Every Picture?
  19 July 2026

  Duplicates after a Takeout import usually mean album folders, edited versions, or a second import. Here is how to tell.

• How Do I Fix Google Takeout Photo Dates on a Mac?
  19 July 2026

  The full process on macOS, from unzipping the export to checking the result in Finder and Apple Photos.

• Google Takeout Photos Missing Location? Restore the GPS
  19 July 2026

  Where the location data goes in a Google Takeout export, what geoData and geoDataExif mean, why many say 0.0, and how to write real GPS back.

• How Do I Move Google Photos to OneDrive Without Losing the Dates?
  18 July 2026

  Takeout can deliver straight to OneDrive, but the photos arrive without their dates. Here is the step most people miss.

• How Long Does It Take to Fix 10,000 Photos?

  Usually well under an hour on an ordinary computer, and longer if you are converting HEIC or videos.

• Does Fixing Photo Metadata Reduce Quality? No
  13 July 2026

  Writing a date or GPS location changes the metadata block, not the pixels. The one option that does re-encode, and why the photo stays the same.

• Convert Old AVI, WMV and 3GP Videos to MP4
  13 July 2026

  Camcorder AVI, WMV and early phone 3GP files will not play on modern devices. When a lossless re-wrap is enough and when re-encoding is needed.

• Why an Offline Photo Organizer Matters for Family Photos
  12 July 2026

  What a photo tool can learn from your library, what leaves your computer with an offline organizer (only optional place lookups), and what never does.

• Is It Safe to Delete My Google Photos After Exporting?
  12 July 2026

  Not until the export is unpacked, fixed, checked and backed up. Here is the order that avoids losing anything.

• Why Do My Photos Show No Date at All?
  11 July 2026

  A blank Date taken field means the photo has no EXIF date inside it. That is normal for Takeout exports, and it is fixable.

• Does Dropbox Keep Photo Dates?

  Dropbox stores the file unchanged, so the photo's own date survives. The file date on your disk may not.

• How Do I Fix Dates on Photos From an Old Digital Camera?

  Cameras with a wrong clock produce whole folders with wrong dates. Here is how to shift them.

• How Long Does It Take to Fix a Whole Photo Library?
  8 July 2026

  Roughly what to expect by library size, and what actually makes it slow.

• Phone Gallery Shows the Wrong Date? Why and How to Fix It
  4 July 2026

  Your gallery uses the file date when a photo has no date taken inside, and copying resets the file date to today. Which photos it hits, and how to fix them.

• How Do I Batch Rename Photos With the Date?

  Putting the date in the filename makes a library readable anywhere, even in apps that ignore metadata.

• My Takeout Link Expired. What Now?

  Request a new export. The links last about a week, and the old archive is deleted afterwards.

• Why Did Takeout Only Export Some of My Albums?
  30 June 2026

  Missing albums are usually shared albums, or the result of selecting specific albums in Takeout. Here is how the album folders actually work.

• How Do I Import Google Takeout Into Synology Photos?

  Synology Photos indexes the date inside each file. Fix the metadata before copying it to the NAS.

• Fix Sideways Photos in Bulk (EXIF Orientation)
  28 June 2026

  Why some photos show sideways in one app and upright in another, what the EXIF orientation tag does, and how to rotate the pixels for good.

• Why Are My Photos in Folders Named by Year?
  26 June 2026

  Google organises your export into Photos from 2015, Photos from 2016 and so on. Here is what those folders mean and how to build a better structure.

• Move Photos to a USB Stick and Keep the Dates
  26 June 2026

  Why photos copied to a USB stick or SD card lose their dates, what FAT32 and exFAT can store, and how to make the dates survive any drive.

• How Do I Organize 50,000 Photos Without Doing It by Hand?
  26 June 2026

  Sorting by hand is impossible at that size. Here is how to get a structured library in one run.

• How Do I Fix the Dates on a Very Large Photo Library?
  23 June 2026

  Fifty thousand photos, several hundred gigabytes, split across many zip parts. Here is how to approach it without redoing the work.

• How Do I Stop Google Photos From Changing My Dates Again?
  22 June 2026

  Google is not changing your dates. It never wrote them into your files. Here is how to make them permanent.

• What Is a Sidecar File?
  21 June 2026

  A small companion file holding information about the photo next to it. Here is why that is fragile.

• Why Are My Photos Sorted by Filename Instead of Date?
  19 June 2026

  Your file manager fell back to name order because the dates are useless. Here is the real fix.

• Is Google Takeout Missing Timezone Information?
  19 June 2026

  Google Takeout stores the moment a photo was taken, but not the timezone it was taken in. Here is what that means and how to avoid photos landing on the wrong day.

• Add a Location to Photos Without GPS Data
  19 June 2026

  How to write GPS coordinates into photos that have none, by typing a city name or coordinates, and why a place name in the file helps later.

• Why Does Google Takeout Split My Export Into Parts?
  18 June 2026

  Google caps each archive, so big libraries arrive in numbered zips. Here is the mistake to avoid.

• Rename Photos by Date Taken in Bulk: Windows, Mac, Linux
  18 June 2026

  Rename photos by the date taken inside each file (EXIF), not the file date, year first, so every folder sorts in time order. Tools and steps for Windows, Mac, Linux.

• Keep Screenshots Out of Your Photo Library
  17 June 2026

  Screenshots clutter a photo library and mislead date sorting. How to tell them apart from photos and move them into their own folder in bulk.

• Can I Add My Own Text to the Filenames?
  16 June 2026

  Yes. A family name, a trip, an event. Here is how naming templates work.

• Convert HEIC to JPG and Keep the Metadata
  14 June 2026

  How to convert iPhone HEIC photos to JPG in bulk without losing dates, GPS or orientation, by hand or with a tool, on Mac, Windows and Linux.

• Can I Run This on a Folder That Is Not From Google?
  14 June 2026

  Yes. Any folder of photos works. Here is what it can do with files that never touched Google Photos.

• Move Google Photos to Apple Photos With the Right Dates
  13 June 2026

  How to get a Google Takeout export into Apple Photos with correct dates, working Live Photos and HEIC files, and what goes wrong if you skip a step.

• What Happens if a Photo Has No Date Anywhere?
  12 June 2026

  Some photos have no date in the file and no .json either. Here is what a good tool does with them.

• Scanned Photos: Set the Real Date and Place in Bulk
  12 June 2026

  Scanners stamp old prints with today's date. How to give a folder of scans one real date and place so they sort into the right year everywhere.

• Does This Work if My Photos Are Already Organized?
  12 June 2026

  Yes, and it does not have to move anything. Here is how to fix dates while keeping your folders.

• Can I Fix My Photo Dates Without Re-Downloading Google Takeout?
  11 June 2026

  Yes, if you still have the .json files. They hold the dates. Here is how to check before you request a second export.

• Why Is My Photo Date Off by a Few Hours?
  10 June 2026

  Your photos are a few hours out after a Takeout export. It is almost always a timezone conversion, not corrupted data. Here is how to get it right.

• Why Is My Photo Map Empty After Moving From Google Photos?
  9 June 2026

  Coordinates came back in the .json files and most photos never had any. Here is what to expect.

• What Do I Do With a Huge Google Takeout Zip File?

  Extracting tens of gigabytes without running out of disk or patience.

• How Do I See a Photo's Metadata on a Mac?

  Open the photo in Preview, press Command-I and open the Exif tab: date taken, camera and, in the GPS tab, the location. What an empty Exif tab means.

• Does Google Takeout Delete the Dates From My Photos?
  6 June 2026

  No. Google Takeout does not strip your photo dates. It puts them in a separate .json file instead of inside the photo. Here is how to put them back.

• Sort Photos Into Folders by Location (City Names)
  4 June 2026

  How to turn GPS coordinates into city names and file photos into folders by place, what reverse geocoding involves, and what goes wrong.

• Is There an Easier Way Than exiftool to Fix Takeout Dates?
  4 June 2026

  exiftool can do it, but the command is long and Google's sidecar names make it fragile. Here is the same result without the terminal.

• How Do I Get the Correct Date Into My Google Takeout Photos?
  4 June 2026

  The real dates are in the .json files next to your photos. Here is the easy way to write them back into the pictures, without the command line.

• Why Does the Same Photo Have Two Different Dates?
  3 June 2026

  creationTime and photoTakenTime are not the same thing. Using the wrong one dates your scans to last year.

• Why Did My Photos Lose Their Location After Export?
  3 June 2026

  The coordinates are in the .json files, not the photos. And some never had any. Here is how to tell.

• Why Do My Photos Have the Wrong Year After Importing?
  31 May 2026

  A whole library landing in the wrong year is the import date, not your photos. Here is the cause and the fix.

• Will It Work on an Old or Slow Laptop?

  Yes. Reading and writing metadata is light work. Conversions are the only heavy part.

• Why Do My Google Takeout Files Have Such Strange Names?
  29 May 2026

  Truncated sidecar names, (1) counters in odd places and 46-character cut-offs. Here is what the naming actually means.

• Can I Use It on More Than One Computer?

  Yes. The unlock is tied to your purchase, not to a single machine.

• Why Do Some of My Photos Have No JSON File?
  24 May 2026

  Not every photo gets a sidecar. Here is which ones miss out and what happens to them.

• What Happens to My Albums When I Leave Google Photos?
  22 May 2026

  Albums become plain folders in your export, and album membership is not stored in the photos. Here is what survives and what does not.

• How Do I Back Up My Photos After Leaving Google?
  18 May 2026

  A folder of dateless files is not an archive. Here is what to fix before you call it a backup.

• Why Did My Google Takeout Download Link Expire?
  15 May 2026

  Takeout links last about a week and allow only a few download attempts. Here is how to get your export back and how to avoid losing it again.

• How Do I Import Google Takeout Into digiKam?
  13 May 2026

  digiKam reads EXIF, not Google's .json sidecars. Write the metadata into the photos before you build your digiKam library.

• How Do I Put the Right Date on Old Scanned Photos?

  Set an approximate date per batch. A photo dated 1974 sorts far better than one dated today.

• What Is EXIF Data and Why Do My Photos Not Have It?
  10 May 2026

  EXIF is the information stored inside a photo file. Here is what it holds and why Takeout photos are missing it.

• Is It a Subscription?

  No. It is a single payment, and it keeps working without an internet connection.

• Why Did My Photo Captions Disappear After Takeout?
  8 May 2026

  Captions you typed in Google Photos are in the .json files, not in the pictures. Here is where to find them and how to keep them.

• How Do I Share a Family Photo Archive That Still Makes Sense?

  Hand over plain folders with dated filenames. No app to install, nothing to log in to.

• Why Is My Google Takeout Missing Photos?
  3 May 2026

  Missing photos in a Takeout export usually means an incomplete download, a shared album, or a part you have not unzipped. Here is the checklist.

• Google Photos Export to Immich: Dates, Sidecars, Albums
  2 May 2026

  How to get a Google Takeout export into Immich with the right dates. Covers immich-go, why dates break on a plain upload, and preparing files first.

• How Do I Move Google Photos to a Mac With the Correct Dates?
  1 May 2026

  Apple Photos files every Takeout import under today. It reads EXIF, and Takeout photos have none. Here is the fix, in one run.

• Merge Two Photo Libraries Without Duplicates
  30 April 2026

  How to combine photo folders from a phone, a Takeout export and old backups into one library without copying the same photo twice, using content hashes.

• Why Are My People and Face Tags Missing From Google Takeout?
  29 April 2026

  Named people appear in the .json sidecars, but face grouping itself does not export. Here is what you actually get back.

• Can I Download Google Takeout on My Phone?

  You can, but you should not. Phones struggle with huge zips and cannot fix the metadata afterwards.

• Fix Google Takeout Photo Dates on Linux
  24 April 2026

  Fixing a Google Photos export on Linux: exiftool from your distro, ffmpeg for videos, and phones through the file manager.

• WhatsApp Photos Have the Wrong Date: What You Can Fix
  21 April 2026

  WhatsApp strips EXIF from every photo it sends. What date information is left, what cannot be recovered, and how to set a date for a whole folder.

• Takeout Live Photos: the MP4 and MOV Pairs, Explained
  21 April 2026

  Why iPhone Live Photos come out of Google Takeout as a still plus a short video, why the video has the wrong date, and three ways to handle the pairs.

• How Do I Merge Photos From Two Different Phones?
  18 April 2026

  Two cameras, two naming schemes, overlapping numbers. Here is how to combine them without a mess.

• How Do I Get My Google Photos Onto a Windows PC With the Right Dates?
  18 April 2026

  Windows sorts by file date, and Takeout gives every photo today's date. One run fixes the whole folder.

• Can I Fix the Dates on Scanned Family Photos?
  17 April 2026

  Scans are dated the day you scanned them. Here is how to set the real decade in bulk.

• How Do I Fix Dates on WhatsApp Videos?

  WhatsApp strips metadata from videos as well as photos. Here is what survives.

• Do I Need to Learn the Command Line to Fix My Photo Dates?

  The free tools are command line tools. Here is what that involves and what the alternative is.

• Do I Need an Internet Connection to Fix My Photos?
  16 April 2026

  No. The work happens on your computer. One optional feature uses the network, and you can leave it off.

• How Do I Know Which Photos Have No Date?

  Spotting the undated photos in a big library, and what to do about the ones that cannot be recovered.

• What Should I Do With the -edited Photos in My Takeout?
  11 April 2026

  Takeout gives you the original and your edited version. Here is how to choose without doing it by hand.

• Motion Photos vs Live Photos: How Each Is Stored
  11 April 2026

  Apple Live Photos are two files, Google and Samsung Motion Photos are one. How each works on disk and what survives a move between platforms.

• Can I Upload My Photos Back to Google Photos and Keep the Original Dates?
  9 April 2026

  Only if the dates are inside the photos. Google Photos ignores the .json files it gave you. Here is how to make the upload work.

• Why Does Apple Photos Show the Wrong Date After Importing My Takeout?
  8 April 2026

  Apple Photos reads EXIF and ignores Google's .json files, so everything lands under today. Here is the fix, and why order matters.

• How Do I Get My Photos Out of Google Photos Quickly?

  The fastest realistic route out, and the two settings that save the most time.

• Why Does My Photo Say 1970?

  A photo dated 1 January 1970 has no date at all. Here is what that means and how to get the real one back.

• How Do I Fix Photo Dates on an External Drive?

  Working directly on a USB drive or portable disk, and the one thing to check first.

• Why Won't My .MOV Files Play on Windows?

  Some .MOV files use codecs Windows does not ship. Converting them to MP4 makes them play everywhere.

• Why Do All My Photos Show the Download Date?

  Every photo dated the day you downloaded them means the dates were never inside the files. Here is the fix.

• What Happens to My Photos If I Cancel Google One?

  They are not deleted immediately, but you cannot add more, and after long enough over quota Google may remove them.

• Why Won't My HEIC Photos Open?

  HEIC is Apple's format. Windows and many other programs need an add-on, or a conversion to JPG.

• Is exiftool Hard to Use?

  The basics are easy. Getting a Takeout export right with it is not.

• How Do I Fix Photo Dates in Windows 10?

  The same way as on Windows 11: write the real date into each file, in bulk.

• Why Did My Photo Dates Shift by a Few Hours?

  Something converted the time between time zones. The moment is the same; the displayed clock is not.

• How Do I Prepare Photos for a Photo Book?

  Photo book services sort by date and choke on some formats. Here is what to sort out first.

• Why Did My Google Takeout Download Fail?

  Usually a large single file over a browser connection. Smaller parts are far more reliable.

• How Do I Fix Photo Dates From a Memory Card?

  Camera photos usually have correct dates already. Check before fixing anything.

• Does Google Drive Keep Photo Metadata?

  Google Drive stores your file exactly as you uploaded it. What it shows you in its own viewer is a different question.

• Does OneDrive Keep Photo Dates?

  OneDrive keeps the date inside the photo. The Date Taken column in Explorer can still look empty for other reasons.

• Which Photo Should I Keep, the Edited One or the Original?

  Takeout gives you both. Here is how to tell them apart and which to keep.

• How Do I Import Google Takeout Into Apple Photos?

  Fix the metadata first, then drag the folder into Photos. Importing the raw export puts everything on one day.

• How Do I Organize a Box of Inherited Photos and Files?

  Get everything into one folder, fix the dates, then sort by year. Do the reading and labelling afterwards.

• Why Do My Photos Have No Location After Takeout?

  Google keeps the coordinates in the .json file beside each photo instead of inside the picture, so map views come up empty.

• Is There a Free Way to Fix Photo Dates?

  Yes. exiftool is free and excellent if you are comfortable at a command line. Otherwise there are free allowances.

• Can I Fix Photo Dates on a Chromebook?

  Chromebooks are awkward for this. Here are the realistic options, including the one most people end up using.

• Can I Fix Photo Dates on My Phone?

  Phone apps can edit a date, but a large library needs a computer. Here is why.

• How Do I Import Google Takeout Into Lightroom?

  Lightroom reads dates from inside the file. A Takeout export has none, so the catalogue comes out wrong unless you fix it first.

• Why Are My Photos Off by One Day?

  A time zone conversion shifted a photo taken near midnight across the date line into the day before or after.

• What if the .json File Name Does Not Match the Photo?

  Google's sidecar naming is inconsistent and often truncated. Here is why, and how matching still works.

• How Do I Put My Photos on a NAS and Keep Them Organized?

  Fix the dates and the folder structure on your computer first. A NAS will index whatever you give it, mess included.

• What If My Computer Sleeps While It Is Running?

  The work pauses and continues when the machine wakes. Nothing is corrupted by a sleep.

• How Much Does It Cost to Fix My Photo Dates?

  Free for a small library. Around twenty dollars, once, for an unlimited one.

• I Already Imported Everything. Can I Still Fix It?

  Yes. Fix the original files, then re-import, or point the app at the folder it imported from.

• What Time Zone Do Takeout Dates Use?

  The .json files store the moment in UTC. Whether you see the local time depends on the tool that reads them.

• Does This App Upload My Photos Anywhere?

  No. Everything happens on your own computer. There is no account and no upload.

• Why Does Explorer Show Two Different Dates for One Photo?

  Because they are different things: when the file arrived, and when the photo was taken.

• Why Does My Phone Show a Different Date From My Computer?

  They are reading different fields. The phone reads the photo, the computer often reads the file.

• Why Is Date Taken Empty in Windows?

  An empty Date Taken column means the photos have no date inside them. Windows is not hiding it.

• Why Do My Videos Play Out of Order?

  Videos carry their date in a different place from photos, and exports lose it more often. The fallback is the file date.

• What Happens to Live Photos in Google Takeout?

  They come out as two files, a picture and a short video, with the same name. Here is how to keep them together.

• Are Google Takeout Scripts Safe to Run?

  Read what they do before running them on an only copy, and run them on a copy regardless.

• What Happens if I Run a Photo Fixer Twice?

  Running the same job again on the same folder, and why it should be harmless.

• How Do I Fix Dates on Photos Downloaded From Facebook?

  Facebook strips the date out of every photo. Here is what survives the download and what you can do.

• How Do I Fix Dates on Photos I Downloaded?

  Downloaded photos usually carry the download date, not the real one. Here is how to correct a whole folder.

• Do Photos Lose Their Metadata When Emailed?

  Email itself keeps the file intact. The apps at either end often do not.

• How Do I Merge Two Photo Libraries?

  Fix the dates in both first, then merge into one date-based structure and let duplicates fall out.

• How Do I Fix Photo Dates in Bulk?

  Fixing dates one photo at a time is hopeless past about fifty. Here is the quick way for a whole library.

• How Do I Fix Dates on Photos Downloaded From Instagram?

  Instagram removes photo metadata on upload. Here is what the export gives you instead.

• Why Do My Scanned Photos Have the Wrong Date?

  A scan is a new file. Its date is the day you scanned it, not the day the picture was taken.

• How Do I Get My Photos Off Google for Good?

  Export, fix the metadata, store them in plain folders, then delete. The middle step is the one people skip.

• How Do I Clean Up a Messy Photo Library?

  A sensible order of operations when a library has grown out of control.

• Why Do My Photos Open in the Wrong App?

  Usually a file association, sometimes a format your system does not really support. Here is how to tell which.

• How Do I Fix the Dates on My Videos?

  Write the real date into the video file itself, the same way you would with a photo, and every player sorts correctly.

• How Do I Fix Photo Dates After Restoring a Backup?

  Restored photos often arrive with the restore date instead of the original. Here is what is recoverable.

• How Do I Find Duplicate Photos?

  Compare the file contents, not the names. Google Takeout in particular hands you the same photo under several names.

• Does Google Takeout Include My Albums?

  Yes, as folders. A photo in three albums is exported three times, which is where the duplicates come from.

• Why Are My .json Filenames Cut Off?

  Google truncates the name when it grows too long, so the .json no longer matches its photo exactly.

• Can I Fix Dates Inside My Apple Photos Library?

  Adjust them inside Photos for a few, or fix the files before importing for a whole library. Do not edit the library folder directly.

• Should I Organize Photos by Date or by Event?

  Date for the folders, events in the filenames. Dates never need a decision; events always do.

• Does Copying Photos Change the Date?

  Copying changes the file's dates on most systems. It never changes the date stored inside the photo.

• Will Fixing the Metadata Change My Original Photos?

  What actually gets written, and whether the picture itself is touched.

• What If Some Photos Have No .json File?

  A good tool falls back to the photo's own data, then to the file date, rather than skipping it.

• Can I Fix the Dates on a Shared Album?

  Photos other people added to a shared album export differently. Here is what you get and what can be recovered.

• How Do I Sort Photos by Date Taken in Windows?

  Explorer can sort by Date Taken, but only if the photos actually have one. Here is how to turn the column on and what to do when it is empty.

• Why Do My Photos Say December 31, 1969?

  That date means zero. The photo has no date at all, and your computer is showing you the beginning of computer time.

• How Much Disk Space Do I Need?

  Plan for roughly twice the size of your export while it runs, and less once it is done.

• Why Does the Windows Photos App Sort My Pictures Wrong?

  The Photos app sorts by the date inside each picture. When that is missing it uses the file date, and the order collapses.

• How Do I Import Google Takeout Into Immich?

  Immich sorts by the date inside each file, so fix the metadata before uploading rather than after.

• Does Zipping Photos Change Their Dates?

  A zip keeps the modified date but loses the created date, and the photo's own date is untouched either way.

• Does a Photo Metadata Fixer Need an Internet Connection?

  What actually requires the network, and what does not.

• Will It Work If My Photos Are in Lots of Subfolders?

  Yes. It walks the whole tree, however deep, and can flatten it into a date structure.

• How Do I Convert Old Videos to MP4?

  Convert them in the same pass that fixes the dates, so the new files keep the right timestamps.

• Does It Work on Photos That Did Not Come From Google?

  The .json files are optional. Here is what happens with any ordinary folder of photos.

• How Do I Move Photos to a NAS Without Losing the Dates?

  Copying to network storage is where file dates get rewritten. Here is how to keep what matters.

• Does It Work With an Old Takeout Export?

  Yes. Google has changed the sidecar naming over the years, and both old and new are understood.

• What Is the Fastest Way to Organize Thousands of Photos?

  Sorting a large library by hand is not realistic. Here is the order of operations that actually works.

• How Do I Free Up Google Photos Storage?

  Export your library, verify the copy, then delete from Google. The export is only safe once the dates are fixed.

• How Do I Check the Dates Actually Worked?

  Open a few photos and look at the date inside them, not at the file date in the folder.

• How Do I Check My Google Takeout Export Is Complete?

  What to verify before deleting anything from Google, and the counts that matter.

• How Do I Fix Photo Dates on Linux Mint?

  Options on Mint and other Debian-based systems, with exiftool at the terminal.

• Should I Back Up Before Fixing My Photo Dates?

  Yes. Always work on a copy when a library matters, whatever tool you use.

• Why Do My Photos Look Shuffled in Google Drive?

  Drive sorts by upload time or by name, not by when the photo was taken.

• Is It Safe to Run on My Only Copy of My Photos?

  Work on a copy anyway. Any tool, any day, whenever the photos matter and cannot be replaced.

• Why Are All My Photos Dated Today?

  Every photo showing today's date means the date inside the file is missing. Here is why that happens and how to get the real dates back.

• What Is the Easiest Way to Fix Google Takeout Photos?

  Point a desktop app at the unzipped export and let it read the sidecar files. No command line, no scripts.

• Do I Need exiftool?

  Only if you want the command line. It is excellent and free, and it is not the only way.

• Why Does Apple Photos Show the Import Date?

  Because the photo has no date of its own, so Photos uses the only one available.

• What Do I Get With Premium?

  The 500-photo limit is removed. Everything else is in the free version already.

• Do I Need an Account?

  No. There is no sign-up, no email required, and no login.

• Does Editing a Photo Change Its Date?

  A good editor keeps Date Taken and updates only the file date. Some tools lose it entirely.

• What Is Date Taken?

  Date Taken is the moment the camera pressed the shutter, stored inside the photo. It is not the same as the file date.

• How Do I Convert HEIC to JPG Without Losing the Date?

  Most converters write a fresh file with today's date. Use one that copies the metadata across.

• Why Won't My Photos Show on the Map?

  A photo only appears on a map if it carries GPS coordinates. Here is why yours lost them and how to put them back.

• How Do I Get Photos Printed in the Right Order?

  Print services sort by filename or upload order. Put the date at the front of each filename.

• Why Are Some Photos Missing From My Takeout?

  Usually they are in a different part of the export, or the export was still being built when you downloaded it.

• Can I Fix Just One Folder Instead of My Whole Library?

  Yes. Point it at any folder. There is no need to process everything at once.

• How Do I Fix Photos From an Old Hard Drive?

  Copy them off first, then fix the dates. Old drives fail, and the file dates are usually already wrong.

• How Do I See a Photo's Metadata in Windows?

  Right-click, Properties, Details. That panel shows the date, the camera and the GPS, if the photo has them.

• How Do I Fix Photo Dates on macOS?

  Point an app at the folder, let it read the dates from your Takeout files, and write them back into the photos.

• What Photo Manager Should I Use on Linux?

  digiKam or Shotwell, and both need the dates inside your files to be correct first.

• What Size Should I Choose for Takeout Zip Files?

  Choose smaller parts. They download more reliably, and reassembling them is the tool's job, not yours.

• How Do I Fix Photo Dates on Ubuntu?

  Use exiftool at the terminal. It reads your Takeout files and writes the dates in, once you have the right command.

• Can I Fix Photos That Are Already in My Photo App?

  Photos already imported into Apple Photos or a similar library need a different approach. Here is the order that works.

• Can Windows Read the .json Files From Google Takeout?

  No. Nothing reads them except tools written for the job. The data has to go into the photos.

• Is Google Photos Takeout Helper Safe to Use?

  The popular open source scripts work, with caveats. Here is what to know before running one on your only copy.

• Will Fixing the Metadata Delete or Damage My Photos?

  No. Writing a date does not touch the image. The pixels are untouched and the quality is identical.

• How Many Photos Can It Handle at Once?

  Practical limits for a large library, and roughly how long a big run takes.

• Is My Photo Data Safe With a Metadata Tool?

  What to check before letting any tool near your only copy of your family photos.

• Why Does Finder Show Today's Date for My Photos?

  Finder shows file dates by default, and a copied file gets today's date. The photo's own date is a different column.

• Why Does My Takeout Have HTML Files In It?

  They are readable summaries of your account data. For photos they can be ignored.

• How Do I Add Location to My Photos?

  If the coordinates exist somewhere, a tool can write them into the photo. If they were never recorded, they cannot be invented.

• What Should I Name My Photo Files?

  Put the date first, in year-month-day order. Everything then sorts correctly everywhere, forever.

• How Do I Put My Photos Into Folders by Month?

  A Year/Month folder tree is the most durable way to keep a photo library. Here is how to build one automatically.

• Why Do My Videos Have No Date?

  Videos lose their dates more easily than photos. Here is why, and what can be put back.

• Why Are My Photos in Random Order?

  They are not random. They are sorted by a date that is missing from most of them, so the fallback dates decide the order.

• How Do I Import Google Takeout Into Plex?

  Plex sorts photos by date. A Takeout export has no dates, so the library looks random until you fix them.

• What Is the Best Folder Structure for Photos?

  A structure that will still make sense in twenty years, and why it beats relying on an app.

• How Do I Stop My Photos Being Uploaded to the Cloud?

  Keeping a photo library entirely on your own machine, and what to check in the tools you use.

• How Do I See Where a Photo Was Taken?

  Check the photo's GPS fields. On Windows use Properties and Details, on a Mac use Preview's Info window.

• How Do I Fix Dates on Photos My Family Sent Me?

  Photos arriving by message or email usually have nothing left inside them. Here are the options.

• How Do I Add Date Taken to a Photo in Windows?

  Windows can edit a photo's date by hand, one file at a time. For a library you need a tool that does it in bulk.

• Why Not Just Use a Python Script?

  You can, and many exist. The hard part is not the code, it is the edge cases in your export.

• How Do I Make a Photo Book From a Google Takeout Export?

  Fix the dates first. Photo book tools lay pages out in date order, and a raw export has no dates.

• Can I Remove GPS From My Photos Before Sharing?

  Yes. Stripping location before you share is sensible, and it does not affect the copies you keep.

• Can I Pause and Resume a Long Run?

  Yes, and stopping partway is safe. Photos already done stay done.

• Should I Keep the .json Files After Fixing My Photos?

  Once the dates are inside your photos, the .json files have done their job. When to delete them and when to hold on.

• How Do I Make Sure My Photo Dates Never Get Lost Again?

  Dates inside the file survive everything. Dates outside it do not. Here is what that means in practice.

• How Do I Back Up My Photos Without Google?

  Two copies on two drives, plus one somewhere else. Fix the metadata first so the backup is worth restoring.

• My Camera Clock Was Wrong. Can I Fix the Photos?

  Yes. Shift the whole batch by the same amount, which is exactly how a wrong clock behaves.