Archive Google Photos metadata

Google Photos stores metadata like date, location, device info, and more for your photos and videos. If you want to archive Google Photos metadata, here’s a detailed guide on how to do it effectively:

How to Archive Google Photos Metadata

1. Download Your Photos with Metadata Using Google Takeout

Google Takeout is the official tool from Google to export your data, including Google Photos metadata.

• Go to Google Takeout.

• Deselect all products, then scroll down and select Google Photos.

• Click All photo albums included to pick specific albums or keep all selected.

• Scroll down and click Next step.

• Choose your preferred file type (ZIP recommended) and archive size.

• Click Create export.

Once ready, download the archive. This archive contains your photos/videos along with JSON metadata files for each photo.

What’s inside?

• Original photos and videos.

• JSON files that contain metadata such as timestamp, location, camera model, and more.

• Sometimes an index.json file listing all the files and their metadata.

2. Extract and Read Metadata from JSON Files

Each photo/video has an associated JSON file containing metadata. You can:

• Open JSON files with any text editor.

• Use JSON parsing tools or scripts (Python, etc.) to extract metadata in a readable or searchable format.

For example, JSON fields may include:

• photoTakenTime

• geoData (latitude, longitude)

• cameraMake and cameraModel

• description

• location

3. Back Up Metadata Separately

If you want to archive metadata separately (for example, as CSV or database entries), you can:

• Write a script to parse the JSON files.

• Extract relevant metadata fields.

• Store them in a structured file like CSV or a database for easy searching.

4. Use Third-party Tools for Metadata Extraction

There are some tools and apps designed to batch extract and archive photo metadata:

• ExifTool: A powerful command-line utility to read/write metadata from photos.

• Photo metadata viewers that support bulk processing can also help export metadata in CSV or XML.

5. Manual Metadata Backup (Optional)

If you want to preserve metadata manually:

• Download photos with original metadata embedded (EXIF data).

• Use tools like ExifTool to extract embedded metadata directly from photo files.

This method works well for embedded metadata but won’t include Google Photos-specific metadata stored only in JSON files.

Summary

• Use Google Takeout to download your entire Google Photos library including JSON metadata files.

• JSON files hold extensive metadata and can be parsed for archiving.

• Use scripts or tools to extract and organize metadata for easy archival and searching.

• EXIF metadata embedded in photos can be extracted separately with tools like ExifTool.

If you want, I can help write a script or provide detailed steps for parsing and archiving the metadata from JSON files.