ZipCombiner

How to restore Google Photos dates and locations from Takeout

Download your Google Photos with Takeout and the pictures arrive, but much of what made them yours is beside them: when each photo was taken, where, and its caption sit in a .json file next to it. Many photos then show the wrong date in Apple Photos, Lightroom or File Explorer. ZipCombiner puts that information back into the files.

What gets restored

From the .json fileWritten into the photo or video
Date takenphotoTakenTimeThe date taken, and the file's own dates
LocationgeoDataGPS latitude, longitude and altitude
CaptiondescriptionThe photo's description

ZipCombiner only fills in what's missing: if a photo already has its date or location inside, that stays as it is. JPEG, PNG, MP4 and MOV files get all of it. Other formats, such as HEIC, get their file dates set to the date taken. Dates are written in your computer's time zone.

Restore it in three steps

  1. Extract your Takeout with ZipCombiner as usual, or use Restore Google Photos Metadata… on a Takeout folder you already unzipped.
  2. When ZipCombiner asks Restore dates and places in your photos?, click Restore.
  3. Watch the count of photos go by. When it's done, your photos sort by the day they were taken, show where they were taken, and keep their captions.
ZipCombiner asking whether to restore dates and places for 12,000 photos and videos
After extracting, ZipCombiner finds the .json files and asks. Here, a sample export with 12,000 photos and videos.

Already unzipped your Takeout?

Click Restore Google Photos Metadata… at the bottom of the window and choose the Takeout folder. ZipCombiner finds every photo and its .json file, including the newer .supplemental-metadata.json names, cut-off names, edited copies ending in -edited, and duplicates like IMG_1234(1).jpg.

What happens to the .json files

Once a photo has its information back, its .json file is deleted, so your folder holds just your photos and videos. A .json file is kept if anything went wrong with its photo; Details… lists those photos.

Questions

Does it change my photos?

It adds the missing date, location and caption to each file's metadata. The picture itself isn't touched, and information already in the file is left alone.

Which formats get the full information?

JPEG, PNG, MP4 and MOV get the date taken, location and caption. Other formats, such as HEIC, get their file dates set to the date taken.

What time zone are the dates written in?

Your computer's time zone. Photos taken while travelling show the time at home.

Are the .json files deleted?

Yes, once their photo has been updated. A .json file is kept if its photo couldn't be updated.

Does anything get uploaded?

No. Everything happens on your own computer.

Do it in one go with ZipCombiner

$4.99 once, for Mac and Windows. Everything stays on your computer.

Get it on the Mac App StoreWindows version