Photos from Google Takeout with the correct date

Your photos from Google Photos suddenly show the wrong date after moving over, for example all dated on the day you uploaded them. This is due to the way Google delivers your photos. Here's how to prevent and fix it.

Why does this happen?

Photos and Memories in your Nextcloud sort by the date taken that's stored in the photo itself. With a Google Takeout export, the date is often no longer in the photo, but in a separate file with the same name followed by .json. If you upload the photos without processing those json files, Nextcloud doesn't know the date taken and uses the file's date instead.

The best route: the WebOké Import Tool

Move your photos over with the WebOké Import Tool, under Photo import(zip). It unpacks the zip files from Takeout itself, keeps the date taken, the location and your device's details, and sets up your albums neatly. You can read how this works in Transferring Google Drive, Photos, Calendar and Contacts with the WebOké Import Tool.

Have you already uploaded the photos yourself?

• A few photos can be adjusted in Memories: there you can change the date and time of a photo. See Map and location: adjusting the date of a photo.
• Many photos: delete the uploaded folder, and move the photos over again with the Import Tool. Or restore the dates in the photos before uploading with a tool that processes the json files from Takeout.

Albums

With the Import Tool, your albums are kept. If you choose the option Create tags for albums, each photo also gets a label with the name of its album. This way you can still find them even if you reorganise them later. You can read about sharing an album with family in Sharing an album with family or friends.

Tip: try it first with a few zip files. Under Stop after X ZIP files, enter 1, for example. If the dates are correct, import the rest.

You can read more about photos and dates in Transferring Google Photos with the correct dates and albums.