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Image ToolsApril 21, 20269 min read

Online Timestamp Adder Tool — Add Date & Time to Photos Free

Burn a clean, customisable date-and-time stamp onto any photo in seconds. Free, browser-based, no sign-up — with batch mode, custom dates, and a retro camcorder preset.

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ImageAndPDF Team

Published April 21, 2026

Add Timestamp to Image — click to open the tool
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Add Timestamp to Image

Drop a photo, pick a date, style the stamp — download in one click.

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Why add a timestamp to a photo?

A timestamped photo is a tiny piece of evidence. It turns an ordinary snapshot into a dated record — useful the moment anyone asks when. The most common reasons people reach for a timestamp tool:

  • Proof-of-work photos. Field engineers, contractors, and inspection teams stamp photos before filing them with a job ticket or insurance claim.
  • Attendance & site-visit logs. Drivers, delivery staff, and on-site service teams add a date stamp as part of their daily report.
  • Receipts & expense claims. A date stamp on a scanned receipt makes reimbursement queues shorter.
  • Travel & memory albums. Camcorder-style amber stamps give a holiday album a nostalgic feel.
  • Real-estate and rental walk-throughs. Move-in / move-out photos with a visible date prevent disputes.

Most phones bury the capture date in EXIF metadata where nobody ever sees it. A visible stamp burned into the pixels is the only one that survives screenshots, prints, email forwards, and document scans.

What the online timestamp adder does

Our online timestamp adder is a browser-based tool that burns a clean, customisable date-and-time watermark into any photo. You get:

  • Current or custom date & time. Use “now,” pick any date from the calendar, or paste your own string.
  • Multiple format presets. DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM, YYYY-MM-DD, 15 Apr 2026 · 14:32, classic camcorder style, and more.
  • Nine-point positioning. Snap the stamp to any corner, edge, or the centre.
  • Full styling control. Font, size, colour, opacity, and optional drop-shadow for contrast against light or dark photos.
  • Batch mode. Drop a folder, stamp them all, download a ZIP.
  • No uploads. Everything is rendered on your device using HTML5 Canvas. Nothing is sent to our servers.

How to add a timestamp in 4 steps

  1. Upload your photo. Drag and drop a JPG, PNG, WebP or BMP file — or tap to pick one from your camera roll. Multiple files are supported.
  2. Pick a timestamp. The tool fills in the current date-and-time by default. Tap the field to open a calendar, or type a custom date string.
  3. Style it. Choose a format preset, font, size, colour, and position. The live preview updates as you change each setting.
  4. Download. Single photo → one click download in the original format. Multiple photos → download a ZIP.

The whole flow takes under a minute, even for first-time users. You can open the tool and try it now — no account, no email.

Customising font, colour & position

Font

The default sans-serif works for most modern photos. For a retro camcorder look, switch to the seven-segment DSEG font — it renders the stamp like an 80s / 90s camera LCD. Typewriter and monospaced options are available for scanned-receipt use cases.

Colour & opacity

White with a subtle shadow is the safest choice on most photos because it stays legible over both bright skies and dark interiors. Amber (#FFA500) is the classic camcorder colour. If your photo is high contrast, bump opacity down to 85% so the stamp feels integrated instead of pasted on.

Position

Bottom-right is the convention — that’s where every DSLR, point-and-shoot, and camcorder has printed the date since the 1980s, and where most eyes go to look for one. For documents and receipts, top-right reads more naturally. Avoid the centre unless you specifically want the timestamp to dominate the frame.

Batch-stamping a whole folder

The tool supports true batch mode — drop 50 or 500 photos and apply a single timestamp style to all of them. Two things to keep in mind when stamping a batch:

  • Use “capture time from EXIF” for real timelines. If every photo should show its own capture time (not today’s date), enable “Pull from EXIF.” The tool reads the original date from each file’s metadata and stamps that onto the image.
  • Match aspect ratios when possible. A stamp styled for landscape photos can look oversized on a portrait. If your batch mixes orientations, use a percentage-based font size (e.g. 2.5% of the shorter edge) so the stamp scales proportionally.

Privacy & EXIF data

Every operation runs in your browser — the photo is loaded into a canvas, the timestamp is rendered on top, and the result is encoded back to JPEG/PNG/WebP locally. We never see the image or the data inside it. Close the tab and every byte is gone.

One privacy note: burning a visible date onto an image is permanent, so make sure you stamp a copy, not your only original. If the date is sensitive — for example, a legal document — keep the unstamped master safely stored elsewhere.

If you want to remove EXIF data (GPS coordinates, camera model) while adding a visible stamp, use our image metadata viewer first.

Comparison with alternatives

There are three common ways people add timestamps — here’s when each one makes sense:

  • Phone camera “date stamp” setting. Free, zero friction, but only stamps future photos and most phones don’t offer it at all. No help for photos already in your roll.
  • Desktop photo editors (Photoshop, GIMP, Affinity). Powerful but heavy — a Photoshop timestamp action takes 10 minutes to build the first time. Overkill for a one-off stamp.
  • Dedicated timestamp apps. Many on the app stores slap a watermark on exported photos unless you upgrade, or send images to a server. Our tool runs locally and is unlimited.
  • Our online timestamp adder. Opens in any browser, no install, no sign-up, no watermark, batch-capable, and private by default.

Frequently asked questions

Is the online timestamp adder really free?

Yes — 100% free with no sign-up, no watermark, and no daily cap. The tool runs entirely in your browser, so we have no server costs to pass on.

Does the tool upload my photos to a server?

No. Everything happens locally in your browser using the HTML5 Canvas API. Your photos never leave your device.

Can I use a custom date and time?

Yes. You can stamp the current date/time, pick any date from the calendar, or paste a custom timestamp string. Useful for back-dating receipts, matching EXIF capture time, or staging a set of images.

Which photo formats are supported?

JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP and BMP are supported directly. Exports keep the original format by default.

Can I batch-stamp multiple photos at once?

Yes — drop a folder of photos in and apply the same timestamp style to all of them, then download the whole set as a ZIP.

Will the timestamp look like an old camera date stamp?

If you want that classic orange camcorder look, pick the DSEG-style font, set the color to amber, and position the stamp bottom-right. It takes about 10 seconds.

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