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.
There are two kinds of date. The one inside the photo, written by the camera, travels with the file through every copy, drive, backup and operating system. The one held by the file system is rewritten by the next copy.
Anything that keeps dates in a separate database or sidecar is a risk. If that file is lost or the app is abandoned, the dates go with it. Google Takeout is exactly this problem: the dates are in .json files that almost nothing reads.
Write the dates into the photos and the problem never comes back. Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer does that, and can also put the date in the filename as a second copy that survives even metadata stripping.