That glowing orange date in the corner of 90s photos wasn't a filter — the camera burned it in. This tool brings it back: it reads the real capture date from each photo's EXIF metadata (falling back to the file date, or a date you type), renders it in a retro monospaced glow, and stamps the corner you choose.
Four formats (2026.08.06, '26 8 6, 6 8 '26, ISO), four colors, adjustable size, and batch processing with ZIP download. Everything runs locally — your photos stay yours.
How to use
- Add photosBatch is fine — each one keeps its own capture date.
- Style the stampFormat, color, corner and size — live preview on every thumbnail.
- DownloadSingle photos or the whole batch as a ZIP.
That orange date was a generation's shutter memory
Point-and-shoot cameras of the 90s burned the date straight into the film corner — orange monospaced digits with a slightly overexposed glow. Thirty years on, the 'ugly' feature became a badge of film aesthetics; date-stamped photos carry a built-in era filter.
This tool recreates exactly that: monospaced digits, adjustable glow, four classic colours, in the corner you choose — and the date is real.
Where the date comes from: EXIF is the right answer
Most caption tools make you type a date — usually today's. The true date lives in EXIF metadata: DateTimeOriginal records the moment the shutter fired. This tool reads it per photo, so a 2019 shot gets a 2019 stamp.
When EXIF is missing (screenshots, images scrubbed by social platforms) it falls back to the file date, or you can type one date to override the whole batch — handy for a roll of scanned prints.
Beyond nostalgia: where a date stamp earns its keep
Renovation progress, site documentation, insurance photos — a date inside the frame is more immediate and harder to dispute than one in file properties. And when photos get printed, the stamp is the only time information that travels with the paper.
Batch processing with ZIP download stamps a whole roll in one pass; originals are untouched.
What people use it for
Film-look social posts — Retro glow date — instantly 1998.
Printed albums — The date travels with the paper print.
Site / renovation records — In-frame dates make progress logs credible.
Scanned archives — Type one year, stamp the whole batch.
Why IMG.DIY
Real dates
Reads EXIF capture date per photo — not today's date.
Retro glow
Monospaced digits with that CCD-burn glow.
Batch + ZIP
Stamp a whole album in one pass.
Private
EXIF reading and stamping both happen locally.