Files from a scanning service
Use TimelineScan after receiving image files from a mail-in or local photo digitization service.
For Digitized Family Photos
Fix the dates on your scanned photos
Scanned family photos usually show up under the day they were scanned, not the year they were taken. TimelineScan helps estimate the original dates, write them into photo metadata, and get your memories back into the right timeline.
Start with a free 5 photo trial to see how well TimelineScan dates your own scanned photos before processing the full archive.
Works with scanned photo files for Google Photos, Apple Photos, Immich, Lightroom, and other metadata-aware libraries.
Before
2,000 scanned photos all dated 2026
After
Photos organized across the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and beyond
The common scan-date problem
Why scanned photos end up in the wrong year
When old prints are scanned, the new digital file usually gets the date it was scanned or imported, not the date the photo was originally taken. That means a lifetime of family memories can appear under one recent year in your photo library.
A digitized photos wrong date problem is usually a photo metadata problem. To fix scanned photo dates at scale, you need a way to estimate better original dates and write them into exported files.
- Photo apps sort scanned images by metadata dates
- Scanners and digitization services often create new files with today’s date
- Manually changing hundreds or thousands of dates is slow
- Even approximate years or date ranges can make an archive much easier to browse
From folder to family timeline
TimelineScan turns a pile of scans into a real timeline
TimelineScan analyzes your scanned photos, looks for clues, suggests likely dates, and writes corrected metadata into exported files. The result is a cleaner photo archive that sorts closer to the way your family actually lived it.
- Reads handwritten and printed dates when available
- Uses visual clues from photo fronts and backs
- Supports optional face and family hints
- Estimates likely dates from available clues
- Writes corrected photo metadata
- Helps prepare photos for modern photo libraries
After the scanning is done
Already digitized your photos? This is the next step.
Digitization services and scanners are great at turning prints into files. But once the files arrive, they often still need dates, context, and cleanup before they feel usable. TimelineScan helps with the organization step after scanning.
DIY scanned family archives
Organize photos scanned with a flatbed scanner, phone scanning app, or camera setup.
Inherited photo collections
Give structure to decades of family photos when exact dates are missing.
Metadata-aware libraries
Make scanned photos sort correctly in your photo library
TimelineScan writes better date information into standard photo metadata where possible, including EXIF date for scanned photos, so metadata-aware libraries have better information to sort by.
This helps prepare photos for Google Photos, Apple Photos, Immich, Lightroom, and other EXIF/IPTC-aware tools without implying an official partnership or identical behavior in every app.
The scanned photos Google Photos imports from a computer can cluster around the scan date when embedded metadata is missing or misleading. TimelineScan is built to organize scanned photos by date before you bring a family photo archive into metadata-aware tools.
- Google Photos
- Apple Photos
- Immich
- Lightroom
- Other EXIF/IPTC-aware tools
From upload to export
How it works
Upload your scans
Start with the scanned image files from your computer or digitization service.
Add optional family hints
Provide names, known years, or face hints to improve date suggestions.
Receive estimated dates
TimelineScan suggests dates or ranges from the available clues in your scanned photos.
Export with better metadata
Write corrected date metadata so your photos can sort more naturally in your library.
Common reasons people search for this
Perfect for scanned photo projects like...
Google Photos timelines full of wrong dates
Apple Photos libraries with scans grouped in one year
Family history and genealogy projects
Photos returned from a digitization service
Memorial slideshows and archive cleanup
Boxes of inherited photos with missing dates
Flexible archive sizes
Start with a small batch or process the whole archive
Whether you have a few hundred scans or thousands of family photos, TimelineScan is built for real-world photo archives and chronological photo organization. Try 5 photos free first to see how well your photos are dated.
View pricingScanned photo dates FAQ
Questions about fixing scanned photo dates
Why do scanned photos have the wrong date?
Most scanned photos are new digital files. Unless the original date is added manually, the file often stores the scan date, import date, or export date instead of the date the photo was originally taken.
Can TimelineScan find the exact date?
Sometimes, especially when dates are written or printed on the photo. For many older family photos, TimelineScan estimates an approximate year or date range using available clues.
Can this help with Google Photos?
TimelineScan helps prepare scanned photos with better date metadata before organizing them in photo libraries such as Google Photos. If your Google Photos scanned photos wrong date problem starts with missing metadata, better embedded dates can help. Different apps handle metadata differently, so TimelineScan does not guarantee behavior in every app.
Does it work with photos from digitization services?
Yes. If you received standard image files from a scanning or digitization service, TimelineScan can help organize them after digitization.
Does TimelineScan change my original files?
TimelineScan works from the files you upload and prepares corrected exports for download or supported delivery options. Your local original files are not changed unless you choose to replace them, and the image pixels are not altered.
Your photos are already scanned. Now make them usable.
Put decades of family memories back where they belong, in the right years, in the right order, and ready to share. Start with 5 free photos and see how well TimelineScan dates your own scans.
Start fixing my photo dates