iPhone photo guide

Add a date and location stamp to an existing iPhone photo

To make a photo’s date or location visible on the image, use its existing metadata to create a stamp, then save an exported copy. Here is the practical workflow.

Create the stamp

  1. Install Metadata Engraver and select the existing photo from your library.
  2. In Content, open Date and time and enable the capture date or time fields you want.
  3. Open Location and enable the available coordinates or location label. If the photo has no saved GPS, location fields remain unavailable.
  4. Adjust the stamp’s layout, style, size, and position in the preview.
  5. Choose Export, then Save to Photos or Save & Share to create the output copy.

You can also use the app’s location options to show coordinates, an address, or nearby place information when available. Address, nearby-place, and map features may require an internet connection; coordinates for a coordinate stamp stay on the device.

Keep or remove hidden metadata

The visible stamp is part of the image pixels. Hidden EXIF metadata is a separate layer. In the export settings, decide whether to keep the original file metadata. Keeping it can preserve useful camera details; removing it can reduce the hidden location information shared with the copy. The visible location stamp itself still reveals the place.

A note about edits in Photos

Photos can adjust a photo’s date, time, and assigned location in its Info panel, but those details are not automatically printed across the image. For a manual label, use Markup. For an overlay populated from metadata, use a stamping workflow and retain the original photo when you need an untouched source.

Download the app

Download Metadata Engraver from the App Store. For a plain text caption, Apple’s built-in Markup tools are another option.

Date and location stamp questions

Does this change the original photo?

The app creates an exported copy. Keep the original separately if you want an untouched source.

Can I stamp a location if there is no GPS?

No metadata-based stamp can recover missing coordinates. You can type a manual caption, but it is not verified location data.

Will the stamp keep showing after I share the photo?

Yes. The visible text is rendered into the image pixels. Hidden EXIF location may still be present if you choose to keep the original metadata.

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