File Date Calculator
Drop files or a whole selection to see how old they are. For each file the tool shows the date it was last modified, any date written in its name, such as IMG_20260314_093000 or a Unix timestamp, and for JPEG photos the date the picture was taken from its EXIF data. It works out each file’s age, the oldest and newest files, and which ones are older than a number of days, with a CSV export.
- Runs in your browser
- No sign-up
- Free to use
| File | Modified | Date in name | Photo taken | Age |
|---|
How to use File Date Calculator
- Drop files (only names, dates and photo metadata are read).
- Read the modified date, the date in the name and the photo date.
- Set “older than” to count files for clean-up.
- Sort the list or download it as CSV.
File Date Calculator features
Three dates
Modified date, date in the file name and EXIF capture date.
Name patterns
IMG_20260314, 2026-03-14, WhatsApp, screenshots and Unix timestamps.
Ages
Days, months or years since each file’s best date.
Clean-up help
Count and size of files older than N days.
Copy detection
Flags photos modified long after they were taken.
Private
Files are not uploaded; contents are not read beyond photo metadata.
When to use File Date Calculator
- Finding old files to archive or delete.
- Sorting photos by when they were really taken.
- Checking retention periods for documents.
- Working out the date behind a timestamp in a log or export file name.
File Date Calculator FAQ
Why is the creation date not shown?
Browsers only give web pages a file’s last-modified date. The creation date is not available to any website.
What is the “best date”?
The photo’s EXIF capture date if present, otherwise a date found in the file name, otherwise the modified date. It is the most likely date of the content itself.
Which name patterns are recognised?
Year-month-day dates with or without separators and times, such as IMG_20260314_093000 or Screenshot 2026-03-14 at 09.30.00, and 10- or 13-digit Unix timestamps.
Why does a photo say “copied or edited later”?
Its modified date is more than two days after the capture date, which usually means it was copied, synced or edited.
Does it read photos from phones in HEIC?
EXIF is read from JPEG files. HEIC files show their modified date and any date in their name.
Are my files uploaded?
No. Everything is read in your browser.
Which date does a file have?
A file can carry several dates, and they often disagree. The file system records when it was last modified, which changes whenever the file is edited and sometimes when it is copied or synced. Many programs also write a date into the file name, and cameras and phones store the moment a photo was taken inside the image as EXIF metadata. Knowing which is which matters when sorting, archiving or deleting files.
Browsers expose only the last-modified date to web pages, so that is shown for every file. File names are then searched for dates in the patterns that cameras, phones, messaging apps, screenshot tools and log rotation produce: compact forms like 20260314, forms with separators like 2026-03-14, optional times, and Unix timestamps in seconds or milliseconds. Impossible dates are ignored.
For JPEG photos, the tool reads the beginning of the file to find the EXIF block and its DateTimeOriginal field, the capture time recorded by the camera. Only metadata is read, not the image itself. When the capture date and the modified date differ by more than two days, the photo is marked as copied or edited later, which explains surprises in photo libraries.
From these dates, the best date of each file is chosen and its age calculated. The summary shows the oldest and newest files, the span they cover, and how many files, and how much space, are older than the number of days you set. That is a quick way to check retention policies or decide what to archive.
The table can be sorted by modified date, by name or by best date, and exported as CSV with ISO dates and ages in days for further work in a spreadsheet.