Why date and time matter
Gallery apps do not only show files. They build a timeline. If a photo has the wrong date, it appears in the wrong month, the wrong trip, or the wrong year.
Bulk date update is useful when photos were copied from another phone, downloaded from messengers, restored from backup, scanned from old media, or saved by an app that removed the original metadata. SyncGallery helps you repair those dates in batches instead of editing each file one by one.
Changing dates can affect sorting in SyncGallery, other Android gallery apps, file managers, and some cloud apps. Review the selected files and the target date before applying changes.
Where SyncGallery reads dates from
A media file can carry several different dates. SyncGallery shows which one is currently being used so you can understand why an item appears where it does.
- EXIF — date/time stored inside a photo file. This is usually the best source for original camera photos.
- Filename — date/time parsed from names such as
IMG_20260414_142336.jpg. Useful when metadata was stripped but the filename still contains the capture time. - File date — the date Android exposes for the media item. It may reflect when the file was taken, imported, copied, or modified, depending on how it arrived on the device.
- Manual — a value you explicitly set in SyncGallery.
On the update screen, the colored chips show the current source for each item, so you can filter and fix only the files that need attention.
File date is not always the real capture date
On Android, the visible date for a photo can come from the system media database, not only from the file itself. This is why two apps may sometimes sort the same photo differently.
A copied file can keep its original photo metadata but receive a new file-modified date. A downloaded messenger image can have no EXIF at all but still contain a date in its filename. The update screen exists to make those differences visible before you rewrite anything.
The bulk Update Date/Time screen
Open the screen for a folder or album, select the files you want to repair, then choose how the new date should be calculated. Each row shows the preview, filename, current date/time, and date source chips.
Filter by date source
Use the filter icon when you only want to see files whose date came from a specific source. For example, show only File date items when looking for files that are missing EXIF.
Select the affected items
You can select individual rows or select a group after filtering. This is useful when only part of a folder has a problem — for example, messenger downloads mixed with normal camera photos.
Choose the target date source
The Set Date menu can use the current file date, parse the date from the filename, choose the earliest known date, or let you enter a date manually.
Apply and choose what to write
When you apply changes, SyncGallery asks which metadata fields should be updated. Most users can keep the default selections. Advanced users can limit the write to Android MediaStore, EXIF fields, video creation time, or file modified time.
When dates from filenames are useful
Many apps remove EXIF metadata but leave a useful timestamp in the filename. In those cases, Date from filename can rebuild the timeline automatically.
Camera-style names
Examples: IMG_20190715_143022.jpg, VID_20210301_120000.mp4. These contain both date and time.
Direct timestamp names
Example: 2023-12-25 15.30.45.jpg. Useful after exports from some desktop tools.
Screenshots
Example: Screenshot_2022-08-01-09-15-00.png. Often the filename is more reliable than missing photo metadata.
Messenger names
Example: IMG-20240310-WA0001.jpg. These usually provide the date but not the exact time.
Filename timestamps normally do not include timezone information. SyncGallery interprets them as local device time.
Choosing the new date
The right option depends on what is wrong with the files. The goal is not to change everything, but to choose the most reliable source for the selected batch.
File date
Use the date currently known by Android for this media item. Helpful when the Android gallery sorts it correctly but EXIF is missing, so other apps or cloud services do not see the same date.
Date from filename
Use this when filenames clearly contain the real capture date and the metadata is missing or wrong. Items with unrecognized filename patterns are not changed by this option.
Use the earliest date
Useful after import, export, or editing, when one date was pushed forward but another source still contains the original capture time.
Manual date and time
Use this when you know the correct date yourself: scanned photos, old camera files with the wrong clock, or a batch that should all belong to the same day.
What gets written when you apply changes
The fields dialog controls where the new date is saved. This matters because different apps read different date fields.
EXIF DateTimeOriginal
The original capture date for photos. This is the most important field for long-term portability.
EXIF DateTime
A general EXIF date field used by some tools as the image date.
EXIF DateTimeDigitized
Often the same as the capture date for digital photos. Keeping it aligned avoids confusing other metadata readers.
MP4 Creation Time
For videos, this writes the creation time inside the video file so the date can survive copying to another device or cloud.
MediaStore Date Taken
Android's media database date. Updating this helps Android gallery apps sort the item correctly on this device.
File Date Modified
The filesystem modified timestamp. This can affect file managers and some tools that sort by file date instead of media metadata.
For best portability, write the date into the file metadata when possible: EXIF for images and MP4 creation time for videos. MediaStore-only changes may improve sorting on the current device but may not travel with the file.
When bulk date update is useful
Photos appear in the wrong month
After copying or restoring files, some photos may appear near the import date instead of the capture date. Filter by source and repair the affected group.
Messenger or social app downloads
Images from messengers often lose EXIF. If the filename contains a date, use Date from filename to place them back on the timeline.
Old scans or camera clock mistakes
Scanned photos and old camera files often need a manual date. Select the batch, choose Manual, and write a meaningful date so they sort where you expect.
Safety notes
- Test one file first. Apply the change to a single item, check how it sorts in SyncGallery and another gallery app, then update the rest.
- There is no automatic undo. You can change the date again, but SyncGallery does not keep a restore point for the previous metadata values.
- Do not update every field blindly if you have a specific goal. For Android sorting, MediaStore Date Taken matters. For portability, EXIF or MP4 metadata matters. For file-manager sorting, File Date Modified may matter.
- Filename dates are only as good as the filename. If a file was renamed incorrectly, parsing the filename will produce an incorrect date.
- Sync uses the new metadata after it is written. Once the file date metadata is corrected, future backup/sync operations carry the corrected date where the selected fields support it.