How do I use a timestamp camera app? The first job, step by step
Short answer: the app does the stamping; your job is to make sure what it stamps is right. Before the first photo, set the phone's clock to automatic, give the app precise location while in use, and choose which fields go on the stamp. Then take one test photo outside, read the stamp, and compare it with the real time and the real address. After that, the routine is the same on every job: same shot order, job name in the stamp, originals kept, stamped copies sent.
Two phone settings cause the stamp errors people usually blame on the app: a phone clock that is not synced, and location permission set to "approximate" or "never". Both are fixed in the phone's settings, not in the app, and both are checked below.
What does a timestamp camera app actually do?
It takes the photo and, at the same moment, draws text onto the image: the date and time from the phone's clock, and, if you allow it, the position from the phone's location service and the street address looked up from that position. Some apps add a compass heading, a job name, your company name or a note. The stamp is part of the pixels, so it stays visible when the photo is texted or emailed, unlike the metadata the phone also saves, which messaging apps commonly strip. For what each of those values is and how it can be wrong, see where the time and GPS on a stamp come from.
Set up the phone before the app (five minutes)
| Setting | iPhone | Android | Why it matters for the stamp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clock set automatically | Settings → General → Date & Time → Set Automatically on | Settings → System → Date & time (or Clock app → Settings → Change date and time) → Automatic date and time and Automatic time zone on (toggle names from Google's Pixel help) | The stamp prints the phone clock. A manual clock drifts or stays in the wrong time zone after travel. |
| Location permission for the app | Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → the app → While Using the App; Precise Location on | Settings → Location → App location permissions → the app → Allow only while using the app; Use precise location on | With approximate location Google's help says the app can tell only that the device is in an area of around 3 square kilometres (1.2 square miles); with Precise Location off, Apple gives only an approximate position. The address on the stamp would be wrong. |
| Camera permission | Asked on first launch | Asked on first launch | No photo without it. |
| Storage of photos | Check the app's privacy policy: on the phone, or uploaded? | Same | Decides whether client photos leave your device. |
The first job, step by step
- Open the app's stamp settings and choose the fields. Date and time always. Address and coordinates if the place matters (it does for inspections, deliveries, rentals). A job or reference field if you will ever need to find these photos again. Leave off anything a client should not see.
- Take one test photo outdoors with a clear view of the sky, then read the stamp. The time should match a clock you trust to the minute. The address should be the building you are standing at, or the next one over; farther than that means the position was still settling, so wait a few seconds and shoot again.
- Look for the source notes. Check whether the app marks each value: clock checked against a time server or not, position from GPS or from the network, address looked up or typed. If it does not, you will not know later which values to trust. If the app shows a warning, such as a stale position or a clock that disagrees with the time server, fix the cause before the real photos.
- Type the job name before the first real photo, and keep it for the whole visit. Changing it halfway splits the job in two.
- Shoot in a fixed order. One wide shot that shows where you are, then the detail. On a job with before and after, take the "before" set in the same order you will use for "after", so the pairs line up without searching.
- Check the stamp on the first real photo, not on the last one. A wrong address on photo 1 is a ten-second fix; on photo 40 it is a redo.
- Send the stamped copy, keep the original. Check whether the app saves an unstamped original as well as the stamped copy; not all do. The copy is for the client, the office, the adjuster; the original, with its metadata, stays with you. What survives when you text a photo is covered in does a photo keep its timestamp when you text it.
- At the end, make the report if the app has one. One PDF with the photos in order beats forty attachments, and a PDF opens on any office computer without extra software.
Mistakes that show up on the stamp
The time is an hour off. The phone clock is manual, or the time zone did not change after travel. Set both to automatic and shoot again; the earlier photos keep the wrong stamp.
The address is a few doors away. Normal for the first seconds after opening the app, and normal indoors. Wait for the position to settle outdoors, or type the address in the field the app provides for that and let the stamp say "typed".
No address at all. No data connection: the position can still be recorded from satellites, but the address lookup needs the network. Coordinates on the stamp are enough to find the place later.
The stamp covers the thing you photographed. Move it, or choose an app that puts the stamp in a band under the image instead of over it.
What the stamp can and cannot say
A stamp written at capture can say what the phone's clock and position service reported at that moment, and a well-designed stamp says where each value came from. It cannot stop someone editing the image later, and it cannot make a wrong clock right. Treat it as a readable note from the phone, attached to the picture, that saves the reader from opening file properties. An app like Asof prints that note with its sources and warnings; what to check in a timestamp camera app lists what to look for in any app.
Questions people ask
Do I need internet for a timestamp camera app to work?
Not for the time and the position: the clock is on the phone and the position comes from satellites. The street address and the time-server check need a connection. Apps handle this differently: some stamp the coordinates and fill in the address later, others leave it blank. The stamp should say which happened.
Why does the app ask for "precise" location?
Because an approximate position is an area, not a point. Google's help describes approximate location as an area of around 1.2 square miles (3 square kilometres); Apple's support page says that with Precise Location off an app gets only an approximate location. An address stamped from that would be wrong, so the app asks for precise location while you use it.
Can I use the app for photos I took earlier?
Some apps can stamp a gallery photo from the date and position saved in its file, and mark the stamp as added later. If the photo came through a messaging app, that data is usually gone and only a typed date is possible. See adding a date stamp to photos already taken.
Should the stamp show my company name?
If the photo goes to a client or an office, a company or inspector name on the stamp tells the reader who took it without a separate email. If the photo is for your own records, leave it off. It is a typed field either way, and the stamp should label it as typed.