View EXIF "date/time taken" in a JPG or HEIC photo

JPG and HEIC photos will contain EXIF metadata which gives information about the time and date the photo was taken, the phone/camera model used to take it, and the technical settings such as focal length and ISO speed.

Doing a basic check on a list of documents on a Windows system that EXIF camera-specific metadata is present in a JPG or HEIC

You can do a basic check on a number of photos at the same time on a Windows system. Windows File Explorer cannot display all EXIF fields in columns but you can use Advanced Renamer to do this. (Although Advanced Renamer is a renaming program you don't need to actually rename the photos: Advanced Renamer is a convenient method of displaying their EXIF data in columns).

Using Adanced Renamer use an add function of  Date <DateTime:d mmm yyyy>   Original <DateTimeOriginal:d mmm yyyy>   Digitized <DateTimeDigitized:d mmm yyyy>  GPS <GPSDateStamp:d mmm yyyy> ISO <PhotographicSensitivity> MODEL and software <Model> <Software> FILENAME 

This will display the Model and ISO number (which shows that the JPGs and/or HEICs were created by a camera rather than by a scanner) together with four date fields which should all be the same. Some cameras may not fill in every date field. For example some cameras do not fill in the GPS datestamp (even though they store location data) but every date which is filled in should be identical if the EXIF data is intact.

Displaying EXIF date/time taken of an individual JPG photo on a Windows system

If you have any doubts about a specific JPG photo you can display full details including the date/time taken using Acute Photo EXIF Viewer on a Windows system (if the JPGs are not currently on a Windows system, compress the JPGs into a 7-ZIP or RAR file and email that to yourself and then open the email on your Windows computer and extract the files, or else use a USB cable to plug the device where the JPGs are into a Windows computer).  

 An example of the display using Acute Photo EXIF Viewer can be seen below. 

The ISO speed number (which shows that the JPG was produced by a camera rather than being a scan) is circled in red and, above that, the camera make and model is also circled in red just below the EXIF date/time the photo was taken which is separate from the ordinary file-system date/time circled in blue (which happens to be the same in this example but will not always necessarily be so if the JPG has been copied from one device to another).

Doing a basic check on a phone that EXIF camera-specific metadata is present in an individual JPG or HEIC

You can do a basic check on a phone. If you actually took the photo on the phone you are using then its EXIF data should be intact. But if you are using a phone to look at a photo which has been sent to you, bear in mind that if the app you are using to check (whether the photo has intact EXIF data) has a limited panel size it might display the ordinary file-system date/time of a JPG file, if the EXIF date/time taken data is missing, and do so in exactly the same position on the screen. So the mere fact that a date/time is displayed for the JPG does not necessarily mean that there is full intact camera-specific EXIF data. You should look for the ISO number. In the example on the left below the date/time displayed is just the ordinary file-system date/time because the JPG has no EXIF date/time taken tags. In the example in the centre the JPG was created by scanning in a card photo and the limited EXIF data shows the scanner make/model - again the date/time displayed is just the ordinary file-system date/time. It is only in the example on the right that the JPG does have full camera-specific EXIF data - the date/time displayed (in the same position on the display) is the EXIF date/time taken but you only know this because of the fact that other camera-specific EXIF data such as ISO number is also shown.

Disclaimer

This information page is designed to be used only by clients of John Antell who have entered into an agreement for the provision of legal services. The information in it is necessarily of a general nature and will not be applicable to every case: it is intended to be used only in conjunction with more specific advice to the individual client about the individual case. This information page should not be used by, or relied on, by anyone else.

The information on this page about specific computer techniques is provided for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date at the time it was written but no responsibility for its accuracy, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by me. You should satisfy yourself, before using any of the techniques, software or services described, that the techniques are appropriate for your purposes and that the software or service is reliable.

This page was lasted updated in June 2025. Disclaimer