restore-report.csv: which date_source Photos will ignore

After a Memories restore, the ZIP contains Snapchat-Memories/restore-report.csv. The help page Download the restored files lists that file next to the year/month folders. This note is the date_source column, and why Finder's "today" is not a failed restore.

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The columns the scan writes

Drop the export says Download scan CSV writes memories-scan.csv with file, kind, capture_utc, gps, overlay, split_parts, date_source. The restore report is the same idea after the write: one row per memory, so you can see which clock was used.

date_source is one of:

• json — a memories_history.json row matched on the same UTC day and the same kind (photo or video). If the file name already has a clock time, that row must fall within two hours. This is the source you want. Location on the matched row is the GPS value.
• filename — no JSON row. A name that is only YYYY-MM-DD is stored as 12:00:00 UTC. A clock time in the name (2017-04-03_22-11-04_…) is kept. GPS stays empty.
• zip-mtime — only the ZIP entry time was available. That is usually the export, which is why a gallery then looks like today.

The warning No memories_history.json found. Dates come from filenames (day only). is the filename case, with a screenshot on the errors help page. Request the export again with JSON files included if you need the hour and the pin.

What a JPEG actually receives

On a photo the restore writes, the help page names DateTime, DateTimeOriginal, DateTimeDigitized, and GPS when the matched JSON row had a location. Paths look like Snapchat-Memories/2017/04/2017-04-03_22-11-04.jpg.

Google Photos, Apple Photos, and Samsung Gallery sort on DateTimeOriginal, not on Date modified. Unzipping often sets Date modified to now. That is expected. Trust Date taken / DateTimeOriginal. If that field is the capture day, the restore worked.

The check that is not the CSV

Open one old JPEG (2016 or 2017, not last week). Windows: Properties → Details → Date taken. Mac: Preview inspector, or Photos info after importing that single file. If Date taken is the capture day and Finder says today, stop. Do not restore a second time to "fix" the filesystem clock.

The diagnosis that the export day is not the capture day is Why exported Snapchat Memories have the wrong date. I work on that site. The first 15 photos a day are dated free, in the browser. Videos need the one-time unlock; the price is on the pricing page.

Sources: Snapchat Memories Download help, Drop the export, Download the restored files, Messages from the restore box.