Can I determine when a Facebook-downloaded photo was taken if EXIF data is missing?
Asked 3/9/2012
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I downloaded a photo from Facebook on Windows 7 and checked it with several EXIF viewers. None of them show the original capture date. Some tools do show ICC profile date/time information, but I’m not sure whether that relates to when the photo was taken. I don’t have access to the original file, only the version downloaded from Facebook. Is there any reliable way to determine the date the photo was taken, and does the ICC profile timestamp mean anything useful for that?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
3
Facebook strips EXIF data from uploaded photos, as Itai said, I'm merely adding sources.
We also have a fleet of servers who receive your photo uploads, happily scrubbing out EXIF data [...]
This is done for privacy reasons, so e.g. your boss cannot immediately tell that you were out hang gliding when you were supposed to be on sick leave, or the "bad guys" cannot trivially tell where you live and where your children go to school.
The latest update I know of is from the Facebook Photos product manager (2011):
We now make limited use of camera EXIF/IPTC data. EXIF rotation information is no longer ignored. Photo comments are automatically populated with the IPTC title and caption.
We're looking into more deeply integrating other EXIF/IPTC data into the product, but want to do so in a way that's reliable and respects the privacy of our users.
Seems like a sensible policy to me. But it also means that there isn't supposed to be any reliable metadata left, so the answer to your question is probably down to Itai's suggestions.
Originally by user5262. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user5262
14y ago
0
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Probably not. Facebook commonly strips most EXIF metadata from uploaded photos, especially the original capture date/time, mainly for privacy reasons. While Facebook has made limited use of some metadata such as rotation and IPTC title/caption, that does not mean the downloaded image will retain the original shooting timestamp.
The ICC profile date/time is not a reliable indicator of when the photo was taken. It relates to the color profile, not the camera capture event, so you should not use it as proof of the shooting date.
If the downloaded Facebook image does not contain the original Date Taken / DateTimeOriginal EXIF fields, there is no dependable way to recover the actual capture date from that file alone. At that point, your only options are indirect clues such as the Facebook post/upload date, comments, album context, or obtaining the original image from the uploader.
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