How to Change the Date of a Photo on iPhone
Your iPhone stores the date and time each photo was taken in the file's EXIF metadata. When that date is wrong, photos appear in the wrong place in your timeline. Here's how to fix it.
Why iPhone photos show the wrong date
The most common reasons for incorrect dates on iPhone photos:
- Scanned photos. When you scan old prints or negatives, the scan date becomes the photo date, not the original date the picture was taken.
- Screenshots and saved images. Photos saved from messages, social media, or the web get the date you saved them, not when they were originally taken.
- Camera clock was wrong. If your iPhone's date was set incorrectly (or you were in a different timezone and "Set Automatically" was off), all photos from that period have the wrong timestamp.
- Transferred from another device. Photos moved between phones, cameras, or cloud services sometimes lose their original date.
Option 1: Change the date in Apple Photos (iOS 15+)
Apple Photos has a built-in date editor, but it only works on one photo at a time and only on iOS 15 or later.
- Open the Photos app and find the photo.
- Tap the info button (the "i" icon) or swipe up on the photo.
- Tap Adjust next to the date and time.
- Change the date, time, and timezone, then tap Adjust.
This method edits the date in Apple's database. If you export or share the photo, the original EXIF date may still be unchanged depending on how you share it.
Option 2: Change the EXIF date (works everywhere)
To permanently change the date stored in the photo file itself (the EXIF metadata), so it shows the correct date in any app, any device, and any cloud service:
- Open the Photo Date & Time Editor on your iPhone.
- Tap "Upload Photos" and select the photo(s) you want to fix.
- Tap a photo card to edit its date and time.
- Set the correct date, time, and timezone.
- Tap "Download" to save the photo with the updated date.
This changes the DateTimeOriginal, CreateDate, and ModifyDate fields in the EXIF data. Everything else in the photo (image quality, camera settings, GPS location) stays exactly as it was.
Which fields does this change?
Photo apps read different EXIF date fields depending on the platform:
| App | Primary date field |
|---|---|
| Apple Photos | DateTimeOriginal |
| Google Photos | DateTimeOriginal |
| Windows Explorer | DateTimeOriginal, falls back to CreateDate |
| Adobe Lightroom | DateTimeOriginal |
The Photo Date & Time Editor updates all three fields at once, so the corrected date shows up everywhere.
Tips for fixing dates on scanned photos
- If the print has a date stamp, use that. Otherwise, estimate from the event, season, or people in the photo.
- If you don't know the exact time, use one of the presets: Morning (08:00), Afternoon (13:00), or Evening (19:00).
- After setting the date, re-import the photo into Apple Photos or Google Photos. It will appear at the correct position in your timeline.
Frequently asked questions
Does changing the date affect the photo quality?
No. The tool only changes the EXIF metadata header. The image data is not re-encoded, so there is no quality loss.
Can I change the date on multiple iPhone photos at once?
Yes. Upload multiple photos and use the "Edit All Dates & Times" button to shift all dates at once or set them to the same date. Free for up to 3 photos at a time, unlimited with Pro.
Does this work with HEIC photos from iPhone?
Yes. The tool reads HEIC photos directly. When you download, the photo is saved as JPEG with the updated date.
Will Apple Photos pick up the new date?
Yes. Delete the old copy from Apple Photos, then import the downloaded photo. Apple Photos reads DateTimeOriginal from the EXIF data and will place it at the correct date in your timeline.