GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper - A Better, Easier Alternative
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.
The easiest alternative to GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper is Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer, a desktop app for Windows and Mac. You install it from the Microsoft Store or the Mac App Store, pick your Takeout zip files, and press Start. It writes the real date and GPS location from every .json file into your photos, names them and sorts them into folders, in one run. There is no terminal, nothing else to install, and your original export is left alone.
GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (GPTH) is a free, open-source command-line tool, and it works. But most people who search for it want their photos fixed, not a new tool to learn. Here is why the app is the better choice for them.
The same job, side by side
GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper on a Mac (from the GPTH Neo README):
- Download every Takeout zip and unpack them all into one folder, merging the
Takeout 2,Takeout 3folders by hand. - Install Homebrew if you do not have it, then
brew install exiftool. Neo needs exiftool to write dates into anything that is not a JPEG. - Download the GPTH file for your Mac from GitHub.
- Open Terminal, run
chmod +xon the file, thenxattr -d com.apple.quarantineso macOS will run it. On Apple Silicon, the original GPTH also needs Rosetta. - Run
./gpth, answer the questions about folders and albums. - Hope nothing goes wrong. GPTH moves files out of your export by default, and its README tells you to re-export if a run fails halfway.
Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer on a Mac:
- Install it from the Mac App Store.
- Pick your Takeout zip files. Unpacking is not needed, and multi-part exports are read together.
- Choose where the library should go and press Start.
On Windows the difference is smaller, because GPTH ships an .exe. You still unpack every zip yourself, install exiftool for Neo, click past a SmartScreen warning, and answer questions in a console window.
What you get that GPTH does not give you
| GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (Neo 6.3.0) | Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Download from GitHub, install exiftool, 7-Zip recommended | One install from the Microsoft Store or Mac App Store |
| Terminal on Mac and Linux | Yes | No |
| Reads the zip files directly | Can extract them, from the command line | Yes, just pick them |
| Your original export | Moved by default | Left untouched; output goes to a folder you choose |
| Big exports on a small disk | You need room for everything unpacked | Unpacks part by part on the destination drive, with a free-space check per drive |
| Date and GPS written into the photos | Yes | Yes |
Truncated .json names and (1) duplicates | Handled | Handled |
| HEIC to JPG with date and place kept | No | Yes |
File names with date and place (2023-06-17-1306_Kyoto.jpg) | No | Yes |
| Folders by year/month or by place | By date only | Year/month, year, or place |
Set a date and place by hand for photos with no .json | No | Yes |
| Shows which photos had no usable data | In a log | In a list at the end |
| Move the zips to the Trash after a clean run | No | Optional |
| Interface | Console questions, English | A window in 15 languages |
| Price | Free, open source | First 500 photos free, then USD 19.99 once |
GPTH facts are from the README and the 6.3.0 release of Xentraxx/GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (GPTH Neo), checked September 2026. The original GPTH by TheLastGimbus (last release 3.4.3, 2023) does less: it sets only the file's modified date and leaves the EXIF step to you and exiftool.
Why "easier" matters here
A Google Photos export is usually years of family photos, and you only do it once. The risky part is not the date fix itself. It is everything around it: unpacking 30 zips without missing one, running out of disk space halfway, a tool that moves files out of the only copy you have, or a terminal command typed slightly wrong. The app removes each of those steps instead of documenting them.
It also tells you what happened. At the end you see how many photos were organized, how many got a place, and a list of the files that had no usable data, so you know the job is finished rather than hoping it is. More on checking the result: How to check photo dates are fixed.
When GPTH is still the right tool
To be fair to GPTH: it is free and open source, and that matters to some people. Pick GPTH Neo if you are comfortable in a terminal, want to run it headless on a NAS, or need its album options (shortcuts, hard links, a JSON manifest). The full comparison, including where GPTH wins, is on GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper (GPTH): Download, Use, Neo Fork.
For everyone else, the simplest test is to try both on the same sample. The first 500 photos in the app are free, which is enough to see the result on your own export before you decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer a GooglePhotosTakeoutHelper for Mac?
Yes, in the sense that it does the same job on a Mac without Terminal, Homebrew, chmod or xattr. It is a native app from the Mac App Store.
Does it fix the same problems as GPTH?
It reads the same .json sidecars, including the names Google cuts off at 46 or 51 characters and the (1) counters on duplicates, and writes the date taken and GPS into the photos. It also sets the file dates, so photos sort correctly in Explorer and Finder too.
Do I need exiftool?
No. Nothing else needs to be installed.
Will it change or delete my Takeout export?
No. It reads the zip files and writes the organized library to a separate folder. Only if you switch on "Delete the input when done" does it move the zips to the Trash or Recycle Bin, and only after a run with no issues.
Is it free like GPTH?
The first 500 photos are free on every platform. Premium, for unlimited photos, is a one-time USD 19.99. There is no subscription and no account, and everything runs on your own computer.