How to add the date, time and location to photos on iPhone
Updated · 4 min read
People usually ask this for one of two reasons. Either they want to remember when and where a photo was taken, or they need someone else to see it: a site manager, a client, a landlord, an insurer. The first is solved by settings you probably already have. The second needs the date and place drawn onto the picture itself, because the hidden data rarely survives the trip.
This guide covers both, starting with what works on any iPhone with no extra app.
1. Make sure the Camera saves time and location
Every photo taken with the iPhone Camera stores the capture date and time in its metadata (EXIF). Location is stored too, but only if the Camera is allowed to use it:
- Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services and make sure Location Services is on.
- Scroll to Camera and choose While Using the App.
- Keep Precise Location on. Without it the photo only gets an approximate area.
While you are in Settings, check the clock: Settings → General → Date & Time → Set Automatically. A clock that was changed by hand puts the wrong time on every photo, and nothing in the photo will warn you.
2. See (and correct) the date and place of a photo
Open the photo in Photos and swipe up, or tap the ⓘ button. You will see the date, time, camera details and a small map with the place. Tap Adjust next to the date to change the date, time or time zone; tap the location to change or remove it.
That editing is handy for your own library, but it also shows the limit of metadata: anyone can edit it, and a viewer has no way to tell an original value from an edited one.
3. Why the hidden data often disappears
Metadata travels with the file only as long as every step keeps it. In practice it is lost a lot:
- When you share from Photos, the share sheet has an Options button with a Location switch. If it is off, the place is removed before sending.
- Many messaging and social apps strip location data, and sometimes the original time, when they recompress a photo.
- A screenshot of a photo has the time of the screenshot, not of the photo.
So if the recipient needs to see the date and place, put them where they can see them: on the image.
4. Add a visible stamp by hand with Markup
For an occasional photo you do not need an app. In Photos, open the picture, tap Edit, then the Markup button (the pen tip). Tap +, choose Text, type the date, time and place, then drag the text box to a corner and pick a colour that stays readable over the background. Tap Done.
This works, but it has real weaknesses. You type the time and the address yourself, so they are only as accurate as your memory, and anyone looking at the photo knows the text could say anything. It is also slow if you take ten photos a day.
5. Stamp it when you shoot with a timestamp camera
A timestamp camera draws the date, time, address and coordinates onto the photo at the moment you press the shutter, from the phone's own clock and GPS. Nothing has to be typed, and the stamp is part of the pixels, so it survives messaging apps and screenshots.
Whichever app you choose, a few habits make the stamp trustworthy:
- Wait a few seconds after opening the camera so the GPS fix settles; indoors and between tall buildings the first position can be off by tens of metres.
- Read the address on the viewfinder before you shoot. Near the border between two areas the result depends on GPS accuracy.
- Keep the clock on Set Automatically, as above.
- Keep the stamp small and in a corner so it does not hide what the photo is about.
A note for photos taken in Vietnam
Since 1 July 2025 Vietnam's addresses have two levels, commune/ward and province/city, with 34 provinces and no district level. Map services and older apps can still return the previous names for a while. If your photos go into official records, check that the stamp shows the new structure.