AUDIT FIRST
Review the evidence before you organize.
TrueTaken separates inspection from action. It examines date clues locally, shows the basis for each proposed date, and only then lets you create new organized copies.
The workflow
Three deliberate steps
- 01
Choose a folder
Select a folder containing photos. If it is a Google Photos export, keep compatible Takeout JSON sidecars in the selected folder tree so TrueTaken can try to match them.
- 02
Inspect the audit
TrueTaken evaluates the available date clues on your device. The table shows the proposed date source, filename, destination folder, status, and any reason the item needs review.
- 03
Export selected copies
Confirmed and fallback rows can be copied to a separate destination using date-based names and YYYY/MM folders. CSV and JSON audit reports can be downloaded separately.
Date evidence
Not every timestamp deserves equal trust
Current v1 evaluates supported evidence in this order. The order is a transparent product rule, not proof that a selected timestamp is historically correct.
| Evidence | How v1 treats it | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Embedded capture or creation date | Strong source; considered first | Metadata can be edited, missing, or written incorrectly by a device or app. |
| Matched Google Takeout JSON timestamp | Strong source; considered after embedded metadata | A sidecar may be absent or difficult to match after renaming, duplication, or export changes. |
| Date in the filename | Fallback source | A filename pattern can look like a date without describing the original capture. |
| File modified time | Last-resort fallback | Copying, downloading, and editing commonly change file-system timestamps. |
| No usable clue | Unknown; excluded from copy export | TrueTaken does not invent a certain date when none is supported. |
Embedded date reading in current v1 is focused on JPEG, HEIC/HEIF, and TIFF files. Other accepted media may rely on a matched Takeout timestamp, a filename date, or file modified time.
Statuses
Clear labels, conservative defaults
A stronger source was found
An embedded or matched Takeout timestamp is available without a strong-source disagreement greater than one day. “Strong” still does not mean proven.
Strong sources disagree
If embedded and Takeout dates differ by more than one day, current v1 marks the row for review and leaves it out of copy export.
Only a weaker clue is available
A date from the filename or file modified time is proposed and clearly labeled as a fallback.
No safe proposal is available
The row stays visible in the audit but is not selected for export.
Local processing
Your selected media is analyzed in the browser
Photo parsing, sidecar matching, filename proposals, manifest creation, and copy packaging run on the device. TrueTaken does not upload selected photos or filenames for date analysis.
License validation is a separate network request. It sends the entered license key to TrueTaken's validation endpoint, which checks it with the configured license provider. It does not attach selected photo content, filenames, paths, or audit rows.
Google Takeout
JSON is additional evidence, not automatic truth
Google explains that metadata originally embedded in a photo generally remains embedded after export, while additional information that was not part of the original file can be delivered in a secondary JSON file. TrueTaken does not claim that Google removes all EXIF metadata.