Problem with date changing when adding tags for some photos

[dynobo]

I noticed, that when I add tags to photos that have been shared with me e.g. via messenger apps, their date changes: A photo that got taken last year suddenly shows at the very top of my timeline. This makes using tags and dates/timeline together kind of impossible for me.

As this doesn't happen for photos I've taken by myself, FAQ#what-is-a-date pointed me to the issue: The images that I've received via messenger seem to have metadata stripped (no EXIF or XMP metadata). However, Aves initially still shows the correct "Date" in the "Info" section (I'm not sure, where it is taken from. File creation date? Date when added to Aves?)

Now, when I tag such an image, it will receive and XMP "metadata date" and "modify date" with the current time. Also the "Date" in the "Info" section now shows the current time. The original correct "Date" from before seems gone, and the photo appears at the wrong position in the timeline. The new "wrong" date isn't permanent either: any time I edit the photos tags, its date is updated again, too.

Is this behavior intended?

I understand, that it might be difficult to sort in a photo w/o good metadata, but as the correct date seems to be correctly identified initially, maybe there is also a way to preserve the initial date across tag changes?

Or are there any tipps or workarounds?

[deckerst]

There was a bug related to this, that got fixed with the latest version of Aves v1.14.9. Which one are you using? If you're not already using the latest, please give it a try and let me know if you still have some unexpected behaviour. Knowing the format of the file, etc. would help too.

[deckerst]

I just tried with v1.14.9, taking a JPEG with no metadata, and tagging it several times. The original file date is assigned as the Exif original date, and the XMP metadata and modified dates get updated to the current date as the metadata is modified each time it is tagged. This is intended behaviour, and the original date is kept, so the image stays where it was in the timeline.

[dynobo]

Thanks for you answer! I was still using v1.14.7, but now updated to v1.14.9, but the problem persists.

If it helps, here's one of the affected photos. In Aves, it initially showed (for me) in "Info" the "Date" Jul 26, 2026 - 11:16. Whenever I edit a tag, the "Date" gets updated to the current one, in my case Jul 27, 2026 - 10:34, and it will be sorted to top in the timeline.

[deckerst]

I'll give it a try. In the meantime, could you please:

1. edit that image tags,
2. go to its Info page,
3. tap the Info search and select "Date & time",
4. take a screenshot of the filtered info,
5. then go to About > Bug Report and export the logs,
6. attach here the screenshot and the logs.

[dynobo]

Here you go:

aves-logs-20260727_121959.txt

[deckerst]

I see from your config that you have disabled the metadata date fixing, and removed the relevant confirmation dialog.
So, you would need to:

1. enable the confirmation dialog, via the Settings > Navigation > Confirmation dialogs > Ask before moving undated items,
2. next time you move/edit such an undated item, you should see the dialog, so you can enable the metadata date fix.

[dynobo]

This solves it! Thanks a lot!
I probably initially didn't fully understand the consequences of that dialog, and just wanted to get rid of it. 🙈

[deckerst]

Yeah, I agree it's not ideal. I recently added to that dialog some link to the FAQ, and someone told me it would be nice to nudge users to enable that toggle by marking it as "recommended". Anyway, I'm glad it works for you now.