Foto Notes for Android Is Here: Timestamps in the Photo

Foto Notes is now available for Android. It’s in the Google Play Store and it runs on Android 8 and newer. As you press the shutter it burns whatever the picture has to prove into the pixels: date, time, timezone, the full street address, GPS coordinates, altitude, compass heading, a map thumbnail, the weather at the moment of capture, and your own note. The viewfinder shows exactly what gets burned in.

It is built for people who have to prove something with a photo: trades and building sites, viewings and handovers, damage reports, inspections. The documentation sits in the picture instead of in a list beside it.

What the stamp shows

Hold the stamp in the viewfinder to switch any element off:

• Clock with seconds, date and timezone
• Full address with street, number and town
• GPS coordinates in degrees, minutes and seconds, plus altitude and compass heading, true or magnetic north
• Map thumbnail of your position (Pro)
• Weather at capture time with temperature, wind and humidity (Pro)
• The “Validated by Foto Notes” seal, which only appears on live captures
• Your free-text note
• Your logo, company name and website (Pro)

You build the note from six blocks: date, a ticking clock, location as city, country or the full address, an entry from your room list, the exact coordinates, and your company name with website. Size, colors and the note font change right in the camera instead of in a settings screen. Pro adds transparency and placement: one of the four corners, or above and below the photo where the stamp covers nothing.

Stamp and note follow the language and regional settings of the phone. The app speaks 28 languages, so dates, times and addresses look the way your clients expect them.

All of it goes into the pixels rather than into a metadata field, which is the difference between a burned-in timestamp and EXIF data once a photo has to hold up.

Clocking in and out with a proof photo

One tap on the shutter clocks you in, the next clocks you out, and every entry carries a stamped proof photo with place and time. The history lists days and sessions. Forget to clock out and you add the time afterwards, and the report marks that correction as a correction.

The mode and the history cost nothing. Only exporting the work time report as PDF or CSV belongs to Pro, and the first report is free. Why typed timesheets prove so little is covered in how to prove hours worked when you’re self-employed.

Backing up your work hours

The work time log lives on the device, and it doesn’t survive deleting the app on its own. Android’s automatic backup only kicks in when you set up a new device, not when you reinstall the same app.

So the time log has a backup of its own. “Create backup” writes the log and every proof photo into a single file that you can put wherever you like: on the SD card, in Downloads, in your cloud. “Restore backup” reads it back, and it leaves entries you already have untouched.

Both are free, with Pro or without it.

Stamping photos you already took

Photos you already took can be stamped as well, one at a time or as a batch. Foto Notes reads date, time and GPS from the original’s EXIF data rather than from an input field. Photos without an EXIF capture date are skipped and listed at the end. The original stays untouched, and the stamped version lands in your gallery as a new picture. This one belongs to Pro.

Two elements are missing on purpose. Past weather can’t be determined honestly, and the “Validated by Foto Notes” seal stands for the moment of capture, which a later stamp doesn’t prove.

What it costs

The first three photos after installing carry the full Pro scope, so you see the complete stamp before you decide. After that the app stays usable without limits: as many photos as you want, no account, no ads, and a small Foto Notes mark in the stamp.

Pro replaces that mark with your logo, company name and website, and it unlocks the map thumbnail and the weather. It comes as a weekly subscription, a yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Nothing pushes you into a subscription.

Frequently asked questions

I’m moving from iPhone to Android. What should I know?

Stamped photos live in your photo library and come along with your usual migration. The work time log doesn’t come along, so export it as PDF or CSV before you switch. Purchases also apply per store, and Pro bought on the App Store doesn’t carry over to Google Play.

Which Android version do I need?

Android 8 or newer. Your system settings show which version you’re on.

Can Foto Notes stamp video?

No. Foto Notes stamps photos.

Do I lose my work hours if I delete the app?

Yes, unless you made a backup first. Use “Create backup” in the time log before you switch devices or remove the app. The file includes the proof photos, so the report stays complete.

To see what the stamp looks like on your own photos, install Foto Notes, open the camera and take a picture. The first three show everything the app can do.