IT
Omnvert

Move a Google Takeout to Nextcloud with the dates in the files

Photos show the wrong date after Google Takeout? This puts the real date taken, the location and, if you want, the caption back inside every photo and video.

1
Add your Takeout
ZIP files or the extracted folder
2
Check the matches
Free, offline, nothing is written
3
Write the fixed files
To a folder or a ZIP

Drop your Takeout .zip files or the extracted folder

Add every part at once (takeout-…-001.zip, -002.zip …): a photo's JSON can sit in another part.

Free: scan and preview everything, fix up to 25 files. Day Pass or Pro: unlimited. See plans

Runs in your browser. Your photos never leave this device.

The only request during a job checks your plan. It sends the tool name and a file-count range, never file names or contents.

Check it yourself: open your browser's network tab while the tool runs, or switch off Wi-Fi after the page has loaded. The job still works.

How to download your Takeout

Omnvert is not affiliated with Google, Meta or Microsoft. Works with Google Takeout exports.

Both photo timelines in Nextcloud read the date from inside the file. The Photos app takes EXIF DateTimeOriginal first, then a date in the file name, then the file's modification time. Memories indexes EXIF metadata on every upload and uses the server time when a photo has no EXIF date. A Google Photos Takeout keeps many of those dates only in JSON files; this page opens the fixer with the Takeout folders kept so you can write them into the files before they reach the server.

Photos app reads
EXIF DateTimeOriginal, then the file name, then the modified time
Memories reads
EXIF, indexed on upload; server time when there is none
The fixer writes
DateTimeOriginal and its offset in JPEGs, creation time in MP4 and MOV
Web upload limit
512 MB per file by default

This page opens the fixer with the Takeout folders kept as they are. Checked: October 2026.

Getting the files in

In the web interface you can drag files onto the file list, and the Upload folder option uploads an entire folder and keeps its structure. The default maximum upload size there is 512 MB per file, which a long video can pass; the desktop sync client is not affected because it uploads in chunks. WebDAV clients connect to https://your-server/remote.php/dav/files/USERNAME/.

If you copy files into the data directory some other way, Memories' documentation says you may need to run occ files:scan and occ memories:index so they show up.

Memories and its Takeout command

Memories has an occ memories:migrate-google-takeout command that moves JSON metadata into EXIF on the server. Its documentation warns that the command modifies the files in the user's data directory. The fixer does the same job on your computer before upload, writes a report of every decision, and leaves the original Takeout untouched, which suits you if you have no shell access to the server or would rather check the result first.

Memories can also edit the date taken of a photo after the fact, which is the right tool for the few files the fixer's report lists as undated.

How to do it

  1. 1Add every .zip part of your Takeout below, or the folder you extracted them to.
  2. 2Check the preview, pick the time zone if needed, and write the fixed files to a folder or a ZIP that you then unzip.
  3. 3Upload the fixed folder with the desktop client (copy it into the synced folder) or with Upload folder in the web interface.
  4. 4If you copied files on the server directly, run occ files:scan and occ memories:index.
  5. 5Open Photos or Memories and check a few photos and videos on the timeline.
Fix the dates first

Known pitfalls

  • Without an EXIF date the Photos app falls back to a date in the file name and then the modified time, and Memories uses the server time. Files the fixer could not date are listed in its report.
  • Videos over 512 MB can fail in the web upload with the default settings; use the desktop client for those.
  • Running occ memories:migrate-google-takeout and then uploading files fixed here does the work twice on two copies. Pick one route.
  • HEIC, PNG, WebP and GIF files are copied unchanged in this version, so they reach Nextcloud with whatever date is already inside them.

Questions

Photos app or Memories?

Both read the date from the file, so the fixer helps either. Memories is a separate app your administrator installs; the Photos app ships with Nextcloud.

Does the desktop client keep the dates?

The date taken is inside each file, so it travels with the file whatever the client does with modification times.

Are my photos uploaded to Omnvert?

No. The fixer runs in your browser tab: the archives are read from your disk and the fixed files are written back to your disk.

What does it cost?

Scanning and the full preview are free. Writing is free for up to 25 files per job; one credit covers a whole job, and a Day Pass or Pro covers unlimited jobs.

Sources

The app-specific steps and behaviour above were checked against these official pages:

Omnvert is not affiliated with Google, Meta or Microsoft. Nextcloud is a trademark of Nextcloud GmbH; Memories is an independent open-source app. Omnvert is not affiliated with either.