How to Check When and Where a Photo Was Taken

The most practical reason to check photo dates is organizing your photo library. Modern photo apps sort images by the date they were taken, not when the file was copied or modified. If you want to find all photos from a specific trip or event, the embedded timestamp is what makes this possible.

Photo location data enables even more powerful organization. Apps like Google Photos and Apple Photos can automatically group images by place, creating albums of your vacation to Paris or your weekend at the lake house. This works because GPS coordinates are embedded in each photo, allowing the software to plot your memories on a map. If you want to find all photos from a specific address or venue, this location finder feature makes it easy.

Journalists, fact-checkers, and researchers regularly need to verify when and where photos were actually taken. A photo claimed to be from a recent protest might actually be years old. An image presented as evidence might have been taken in a different location than claimed.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) maintains digital forensics standards that include guidance on analyzing photo metadata. While metadata can be edited (so it cannot be treated as absolute proof), it provides an important starting point for verification. Professional investigators look at timestamps, GPS coordinates, camera serial numbers, and other embedded data to assess whether an image is authentic.

Where was this photo taken? Sometimes you genuinely cannot remember. Was that beautiful sunset in Greece or Turkey? Which restaurant was that amazing meal? Photo location data serves as a personal memory aid, preserving context that fades over time.

This becomes especially valuable for inherited photos or images found on old storage devices. Checking the photo date and location can help you piece together family history, identify when events occurred, and add meaningful context to images that might otherwise remain mysterious.

How to check when a photo was taken:

1. Open AboutThisImage.com in any web browser on your phone, tablet, or computer.
2. Upload your photo by dragging it onto the page or clicking to browse your files.
3. View the results instantly. The tool displays all embedded metadata organized by category, and if GPS coordinates are present, the photo's location appears immediately on an embedded Google Map.

Look for the DateTimeOriginal field under the EXIF section. This shows exactly when the photo was captured. If GPS data is present, you will see latitude and longitude coordinates along with an interactive map showing exactly where the photo was taken.

How to find photo date and time requires understanding which date field to look for. Photos contain multiple timestamps that serve different purposes:

• DateTimeOriginal: The moment the camera shutter was pressed. This is the primary field for determining when a photo was actually taken.
• DateTimeDigitized: When the image was digitized. For digital cameras, this matches DateTimeOriginal. For scanned film, it shows when scanning occurred.
• CreateDate / DateTime: When the digital file was created. Often duplicates DateTimeOriginal but may differ after editing.
• ModifyDate: When the file was last modified. Changes each time the image is edited or its metadata is updated.

For most purposes, DateTimeOriginal is the field you want. It tells you when the photographer actually pressed the shutter button to capture the moment.

How to view photo coordinates: GPS data appears as latitude and longitude values. These may be displayed in two formats:

• Decimal degrees: 40.7128, -74.0060 (New York City)
• Degrees, minutes, seconds: 40°42'46.08"N, 74°0'21.6"W

Both formats represent the same location. Many photos also include altitude (height above sea level) and sometimes the compass direction the camera was facing when the shot was taken.

Understanding the privacy implications of GPS in photos is important. These coordinates can pinpoint locations with high precision, typically within 3-5 meters on modern smartphones. Learn more about how photos can be used to track you.

How to see photo location on map: When you upload a photo with GPS data, our tool instantly displays an embedded Google Map showing the exact location where the photo was taken. You can interact with this map directly, zooming in and out to explore the area.

Want more detail? Simply click on the embedded map to open the location directly in the Google Maps app or website. This lets you get directions, explore street view, or save the location for later. The map works as an address finder, letting you identify the precise building, street corner, or landmark where the photo was captured, even years after it was taken.

According to Apple's official documentation, you can view photo metadata directly in the Photos app:

1. Open the Photos app and select the image you want to check.
2. Swipe up on the photo, or tap the info button (the letter "i" in a circle).
3. View the date, time, and location information displayed.

On iOS 15 and later, this panel shows expanded metadata including camera model and lens information. If the photo has GPS data, you will see a map showing exactly where it was taken.

The iPhone Photos app displays:

• Date and time the photo was taken
• Location on a map (if GPS was enabled)
• Camera and lens used (iPhone model or connected camera)
• Basic settings like aperture and ISO (limited)

For complete EXIF data including all technical fields and raw GPS coordinates, use AboutThisImage.com in Safari. The online tool reveals information the native Photos app does not display.

Google Photos is the default gallery app on most Android devices:

1. Open Google Photos and select your image.
2. Swipe up on the photo, or tap the three-dot menu and select "Details."
3. View the date, location, camera information, and file details.

Google Photos displays a map if GPS coordinates are present. You will also see the camera model, resolution, and file size. The Android ExifInterface API powers this metadata reading across the platform.

Samsung devices include a Gallery app with detailed metadata support:

1. Open the Gallery app and select your photo.
2. Swipe up or tap the info icon to view details.
3. See complete metadata including camera settings, GPS location, and timestamps.

Samsung Gallery often shows more detailed EXIF information than Google Photos, including aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and focal length. This makes it particularly useful for photographers reviewing their shots.

Other Android manufacturers (OnePlus, Xiaomi, Pixel, and others) each have their own gallery apps with varying levels of metadata display. The general pattern is similar: select a photo, then look for an info or details option.

For complete and consistent EXIF viewing across all Android devices, use AboutThisImage.com in your mobile browser. The online tool works identically regardless of your phone brand or installed apps.

Windows displays photo metadata through the file properties dialog. According to Microsoft's documentation:

1. Right-click the photo file in File Explorer.
2. Select Properties from the context menu.
3. Click the Details tab to view metadata.

The Details tab organizes information into categories: Description, Origin, Image, Camera, Advanced Photo, and File. You will find the date taken, GPS coordinates, camera model, and exposure settings here.

Windows also lets you remove metadata from this dialog. Click "Remove Properties and Personal Information" at the bottom of the Details tab to strip sensitive data before sharing.

Mac provides several ways to access photo metadata:

Preview App:

1. Open the photo in Preview.
2. Go to Tools menu and select Show Inspector (or press Command+I).
3. Click the Exif or GPS tabs to view specific metadata.

Photos App:

1. Select the photo in Photos.
2. Press Command+I or choose Window > Info.
3. View date, location, and camera information.

The Preview app shows more technical detail than Photos, including raw GPS coordinates and camera settings. For the most complete view, use an online EXIF viewer.

Several factors can cause photos to lack date or location information:

• Location services disabled: If you turned off location access for your camera app, no GPS coordinates are recorded.
• Camera lacks GPS: Many dedicated cameras (DSLRs, mirrorless) do not have built-in GPS. Only photos from GPS-equipped devices or paired phones will have location data.
• Privacy settings: Some devices offer settings to automatically strip location data from photos.
• Corrupted metadata: File transfers, editing software, or format conversion can sometimes damage or remove metadata.

Can I find photo location if it was never recorded? Only if you can identify the location from visual clues in the image itself. The metadata cannot be recovered if it was never embedded.

If you downloaded a photo from social media, metadata has almost certainly been removed. The Library of Congress documented how major platforms strip metadata from uploaded photos:

• Facebook and Instagram: Remove GPS, camera info, and most EXIF data
• Twitter/X: Strip all sensitive metadata including location
• TikTok: Remove location and identifying metadata
• Flickr: Preserves EXIF data (exception to the rule)

Platforms strip metadata for privacy protection, file size reduction, and security. If you need to preserve photo origin information, keep the original files rather than relying on social media downloads.

Some photos simply never had location data to begin with:

• Older digital cameras: Consumer GPS in cameras only became common in smartphones around 2008-2010.
• Film scans: Scanned analog photos only have the date of scanning, not the original capture date (unless manually added).
• Screenshots: Screen captures do not use the camera sensor and therefore have no GPS coordinates.
• Edited or composite images: Images created in editing software may lack original capture data.

Photo timestamps are only as accurate as the camera clock. Several factors can cause timestamp errors:

• Incorrect clock setting: If the camera time was never set correctly, all photos will have wrong timestamps.
• Clock drift: Camera clocks slowly drift over time, potentially gaining or losing seconds per day.
• Timezone errors: The camera may have been set to a different timezone, making photos appear to be from the wrong time.
• Daylight saving time: Cameras set to auto-adjust may or may not handle DST correctly.

Professional forensic analysis considers these factors when verifying timestamps. A photo showing 3:00 PM might actually have been taken at 2:00 PM if the camera clock was an hour fast.

According to FotoForensics research, GPS coordinates in photos require careful interpretation:

• Typical accuracy: Modern smartphones achieve 3-5 meter precision under good conditions with clear sky visibility.
• Urban canyons: Tall buildings can reflect GPS signals, reducing accuracy to 10-30 meters or worse.
• Indoor photos: GPS signal is weak indoors, often resulting in less accurate coordinates or no location at all.
• High precision does not mean high accuracy: GPS coordinates may show 6-7 decimal places of precision, but the actual position accuracy depends on signal quality.

The GPS timestamp is typically captured a few seconds before the photo itself, so there may be slight timing differences between when location was recorded and when the shutter was pressed.

Timezone handling in photo metadata has historically been problematic:

• Original EXIF lacked timezone: The original EXIF standard only recorded local time without any timezone indicator.
• EXIF 2.31 (2016) added timezone: The OffsetTimeOriginal tag now allows cameras to record timezone offset.
• Many devices still skip it: Even in 2025, not all cameras and phones consistently record timezone information.

If a photo was taken at 3:00 PM local time in Tokyo but your viewer interprets it as 3:00 PM in New York, the displayed time will be wrong by 14 hours. Some software attempts to infer timezone from GPS coordinates, but this is not always reliable.