How to Extract GPS Location & Capture Date from Videos and Photos
Many videos and photos already carry, hidden in their metadata, the original date/time and the GPS coordinates of where they were recorded. Reading them lets you organize and search your archive by when and where — not just by filename.
Where this data lives
Photos store it in EXIF tags (DateTimeOriginal and GPSInfo). Videos put it in MP4/MOV container tags: iPhones use the ISO 6709 format, Samsung/Android devices save date and timezone offset, GoPro and DJI embed flight or shot coordinates.
The catch is that every manufacturer writes it differently, and some fields (like Samsung's timestamp) are in UTC and need converting to local time.
Local extraction, no upload
AI Video Scanner Pro reads this metadata directly on your Mac during scanning, handling the different formats: EXIF for photos, container tags for video, timezone correction for Samsung/Android, and a filename fallback (e.g. 20260602_160418) when the container reports nothing.
No file is uploaded: extraction is a fast local step, separate from the AI analysis.
What you can do with it
- See the capture-location map right inside the file's detail view.
- Open the location in Apple Maps or Google Maps with one click.
- Search your archive by place (e.g. "rome", "tuscany") as well as by date.
Frequently asked
Do all videos have GPS?
No. GPS is present only if the device recorded it (iPhone with location permission, GoPro/DJI with GPS on). Many videos don't carry it: in that case the capture date is shown instead, when available.
Does resolving the place name need internet?
Only turning coordinates into a place name (reverse geocoding) uses an optional online call. The raw coordinates and the date are still extracted offline.
Which devices are supported?
iPhone, Samsung/Android, GoPro and DJI among the most common, plus the JPEG, PNG, HEIC and TIFF photo formats.
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