Why I built this

I scanned 8,000 of my family’s photos. Every one landed in Google Photos on the day I scanned it, not the day it was taken.

A storage box filled with envelopes of loose printed family photos.
Boxes like this one, straight out of storage.
Photo envelopes labeled by hand with dates and occasions like Christmas 2002 and girls camp July 2003.
Handwritten dates: the clues the AI reads for you.
There had to be a better way. So I built one.

The tools

Free where it can be free. Paid where it costs real money.

FrontBack Scanner

Free Mac · Windows

Scan the fronts and backs of your prints, fast.

Free, so digitizing your photos is the easy part.

Get the app

Timeline Scan

Paid Per photo dated

AI dates every scan, reads the handwriting on the back, and writes both into the file.

Dating hundreds to thousands of photos has a real cost.

See pricing

Timeline Tagger

Free Mac · Windows

Type the dates yourself, one folder at a time.

Free, for anyone who would rather not pay for AI dating.

Get the app

What I believe

  • AI should make life easier

    Sorting a shoebox of scans chronologically is exactly the tedious job AI should take off your plate.

  • Your photos, wherever you want them

    The date, caption, location, and faces go into the file itself, in the metadata most photo apps read, so you’re not locked into my service.

  • Costs kept low

    I keep costs low. I want to be an asset to you, not an expense.

Who’s behind it

Spencer Baker, founder of Timeline Scan.

Spencer Baker, founder

Software engineer, 10+ years Scanned 8,000 family photos Answers support himself

Email support@timelinescan.com and the reply comes from me, usually within one business day.

Also on LinkedIn, and I’m @bakerspencer.

Digitized, dated, and organized.

For parents scanning their kids’ photos, grown kids saving their own childhood, and everyone with a box of prints.

Get Started