Photo app: identification if exif or not

[mmattel]

@paul43210
I have two test photos, both contain exif data, but one is filtered as non exif

IMHO both images contain exif data and should be shown when exif only on / not shown when exif only off,
because the tooltip says it looks for the presense multiple exif data.

Shown when filter is set to exif only off

Shown when filter is set to exif only on

[paul43210]

Thanks for the report Martin!

The "EXIF only" toggle filters specifically by EXIF date (photo.takenDateTime), not by the presence of any EXIF metadata. This is intentional — the EXIF date is what determines a photo's position on the timeline. Photos without an EXIF date fall back to the file modification date, which may not reflect when the photo was actually taken (e.g., a photo taken in 2015 but copied to the server in 2026 would appear in 2026).

Similarly, EXIF location data is required for the map view.

The tooltip was misleading — it mentioned "camera, model, time stamp, location..." which implied any EXIF field would qualify. Updated the tooltip in PR #341 to accurately describe the behavior:

"Show only photos with an EXIF date (date taken). Photos without an EXIF date are positioned by file modification date, which may not reflect when the photo was actually taken. EXIF date is required for accurate timeline placement, as EXIF location is required for map view."

So your photo that was being filtered out likely has EXIF camera/model data but no takenDateTime field in the search index. Could you check if that photo has a "Date Taken" value in its EXIF metadata?

[mmattel]

Comments make sense, the change referenced too.
This is the link to the online service I used to view metadata: https://pics.io/photo-metadata-viewer

Note that the screenshots above show on both images the green EXIF box indicating it contains relevant exif data.

Exif data for image shown when filter is set to exif only off - Nikon_D70.jpg

FileName Nikon_D70.jpg
FileSize 14 kB
FileModifyDate 2026:03:20 08:22:40+0000
FileAccessDate 2026:03:20 08:22:40+0000
FileInodeChangeDate 2026:03:20 08:22:40+0000
FilePermissions -rw-rw-r--
FileType JPEG
FileTypeExtension jpg
MIMEType image/jpeg
ExifByteOrder Little-endian (Intel, II)
Comment comment in GIMP 2.4.5
ImageWidth 3008
ImageHeight 2000
EncodingProcess Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
BitsPerSample 8,8,8
ColorComponents 3
YCbCrSubSampling YCbCr4:4:4 (1 1)
JFIFVersion 1.01
ResolutionUnit inches
XResolution 240
YResolution 240
Make NIKON CORPORATION
Model NIKON D70
Orientation Horizontal (normal)
Software GIMP 2.4.5
ModifyDate 2008:03:15 15:18:33-0400
ExposureTime 1/200
FNumber 9
ExposureProgram Manual
ISO 200
DateTimeOriginal 2008:03:15 09:52:01-0400
ShutterSpeedValue 1/200
ApertureValue 9
ExposureCompensation -1
MaxApertureValue 3.1
MeteringMode Center-weighted average
Flash No Flash
FocalLength 100.0 mm
ColorSpace sRGB
ExifImageWidth 2730
ExifImageHeight 1790
FocalLengthIn35mmFormat 150 mm
Compression JPEG (old-style)
ThumbnailOffset 596
ThumbnailLength 1700
ThumbnailImage (Binary data 1700 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Version 3
RawFileName DSC_1801.NEF
WhiteBalance As Shot
ColorTemperature 4250
Tint -3
Exposure -0.5
AutoShadows true
Shadows 2
Brightness 50
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Sharpness 85
LuminanceSmoothing 0
ColorNoiseReduction 25
ChromaticAberrationR 0
ChromaticAberrationB 0
VignetteAmount 0
ShadowTint 0
RedHue 0
RedSaturation 0
GreenHue 0
GreenSaturation 0
BlueHue 0
BlueSaturation 0
ToneCurveName Medium Contrast
ToneCurve 0, 0,32, 22,64, 56,128, 128,192, 196,255, 255
CameraProfile ACR 2.4
HasSettings true
HasCrop false
FlashFired false
FlashReturn No return detection
FlashMode Unknown
FlashFunction false
FlashRedEyeMode false
NativeDigest 36864,40960,40961,37121,37122,40962,40963,37510,40964,36867,36868,33434,33437,34850,34852,34855,34856,37377,37378,37379,37380,37381,37382,37383,37384,37385,37386,37396,41483,41484,41486,41487,41488,41492,41493,41495,41728,41729,41730,41985,41986,41987,41988,41989,41990,41991,41992,41993,41994,41995,41996,42016,0,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,20,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,30;9FF381DCA66CCFA9339F21EAC0493883
Lens 100.0 mm f/2.8
PhotometricInterpretation RGB
CreatorTool Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows
CreateDate 2008:03:15 09:52:01-0400
MetadataDate 2008:03:15 15:18:33-0400
DocumentID uuid:7378C2F1C0F2DC1196C89D103988A03E
InstanceID uuid:7478C2F1C0F2DC1196C89D103988A03E
Format image/jpeg
ColorMode RGB
ICCProfileName sRGB IEC61966-2.1
History
ProfileCMMType Linotronic
ProfileVersion 2.1.0
ProfileClass Display Device Profile
ColorSpaceData RGB
ProfileConnectionSpace XYZ
ProfileDateTime 1998:02:09 06:49:00+0000
ProfileFileSignature acsp
PrimaryPlatform Microsoft Corporation
CMMFlags Not Embedded, Independent
DeviceManufacturer Hewlett-Packard
DeviceModel sRGB
DeviceAttributes Reflective, Glossy, Positive, Color
RenderingIntent Perceptual
ConnectionSpaceIlluminant 0.9642 1 0.82491
ProfileCreator Hewlett-Packard
ProfileID 0
ProfileCopyright Copyright (c) 1998 Hewlett-Packard Company
ProfileDescription sRGB IEC61966-2.1
MediaWhitePoint 0.95045 1 1.08905
MediaBlackPoint 0 0 0
RedMatrixColumn 0.43607 0.22249 0.01392
GreenMatrixColumn 0.38515 0.71687 0.09708
BlueMatrixColumn 0.14307 0.06061 0.7141
DeviceMfgDesc IEC http://www.iec.ch
DeviceModelDesc IEC 61966-2.1 Default RGB colour space - sRGB
ViewingCondDesc Reference Viewing Condition in IEC61966-2.1
ViewingCondIlluminant 19.6445 20.3718 16.8089
ViewingCondSurround 3.92889 4.07439 3.36179
ViewingCondIlluminantType D50
Luminance 76.03647 80 87.12462
MeasurementObserver CIE 1931
MeasurementBacking 0 0 0
MeasurementGeometry Unknown
MeasurementFlare 0.999%
MeasurementIlluminant D65
Technology Cathode Ray Tube Display
RedTRC (Binary data 2060 bytes, use -b option to extract)
GreenTRC (Binary data 2060 bytes, use -b option to extract)
BlueTRC (Binary data 2060 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Aperture 9
ImageSize 100x66
Megapixels 0.007
ScaleFactor35efl 1.5
ShutterSpeed 1/200
CircleOfConfusion 0.020 mm
FOV 13.7 deg
FocalLength35efl 100.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 150.0 mm)
HyperfocalDistance 55.47 m
LightValue 13
LensID 100.0mm f/2.8

Exif data for image shown when filter is set to exif only on - IMG_0219.jpg

FileName IMG_0219.jpg
FileSize 760 kB
FileModifyDate 2026:03:20 08:21:50+0000
FileAccessDate 2026:03:20 08:21:50+0000
FileInodeChangeDate 2026:03:20 08:21:50+0000
FilePermissions -rw-rw-r--
FileType JPEG
FileTypeExtension jpg
MIMEType image/jpeg
ExifByteOrder Big-endian (Motorola, MM)
ImageWidth 1600
ImageHeight 1200
EncodingProcess Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
BitsPerSample 8
ColorComponents 3
YCbCrSubSampling YCbCr4:2:0 (2 2)
Make Apple
Model iPhone 3G
Orientation Horizontal (normal)
XResolution 72
YResolution 72
ResolutionUnit inches
Software 4
ModifyDate 2010:07:11 07:46:21+0000
YCbCrPositioning Centered
FNumber 2.8
ExposureProgram Program AE
ExifVersion 0221
DateTimeOriginal 2010:07:11 07:46:21+0000
CreateDate 2010:07:11 07:46:21+0000
ComponentsConfiguration Y, Cb, Cr, -
ApertureValue 2.8
MeteringMode Average
Flash No flash function
FlashpixVersion 0100
ColorSpace sRGB
ExifImageWidth 0
ExifImageHeight 0
SensingMethod One-chip color area
ExposureMode Auto
WhiteBalance Auto
SceneCaptureType Standard
GPSLatitudeRef North
GPSLatitude +48.2265000000
GPSLongitudeRef East
GPSLongitude +16.3995000000
GPSAltitudeRef Above Sea Level
GPSAltitude 147 m Above Sea Level
GPSTimeStamp 07:46:20.7
Compression JPEG (old-style)
ThumbnailOffset 752
ThumbnailLength 9878
ThumbnailImage (Binary data 9878 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Aperture 2.8
ImageSize 1600x1200
Megapixels 1.9
GPSPosition +48.2265000000, +16.3995000000