Matching stays on your Mac.
Imported Timeline data and review decisions are meant to stay local unless you explicitly turn on Apple services for richer labels.
Built for photographers who care where the shot happened.
Restore place to every frame.
Placeframe helps photographers bring missing location metadata back to Apple Photos by matching Google Timeline history on-device, then letting you review every suggestion before anything is written.
MAC APP STORE
Coming soon
Questions or early-access notes: [email protected] · Privacy policy
- Runs locally on your Mac by default
- Review-first workflow for every proposed location
- Made for Apple Photos libraries, not generic cloud DAMs
This is not a generic cloud DAM shell. Placeframe is built around Apple Photos review and write-back.
Suggestions are separated from confirmed writes so photographers can inspect, reject, or tune precision before applying anything.
The project is already visible on GitHub, and launch updates can be requested at [email protected] while the Mac App Store listing is prepared.
Why photographers care
A clean archive is easier to search, sort, pitch, publish, and trust.
When old imports lose GPS metadata, years of work start behaving like anonymous files. Placeframe is built for photographers who want that context back without surrendering their library to a cloud pipeline.
Recover locationless imports
Backfill DSLR, mirrorless, or scanned work that landed in Apple Photos without place data.
Keep your review deliberate
Suggestions are separated from confirmed writes, so you always know what is proposed and what will change.
Stay local by default
Your imported Timeline history and matching decisions stay on your Mac unless you explicitly enable Apple services for richer labels.
Three deliberate steps
Import, inspect, apply.
The workflow is intentionally calm: bring in a Timeline export, review proposed matches day by day, then write only the locations you approve.
Step 1
Import the Timeline export you already have.
Placeframe opens with a native, plain-language import flow instead of a setup maze.
Step 2
Review proposed locations like an editor, not a batch script.
Browse one day at a time, compare map context, and see exactly how strong each suggestion looks.
Step 3
Choose the level of precision you want to keep.
Apply single selections or a whole reviewed day once the choices read the way you want them to read.
Who it is for
Photographers with long memory and low tolerance for metadata drama.
Travel and documentary archives
Recover the geography of years of shoots so places become searchable again.
Client delivery cleanup
Bring order to exports before handoff without bulk-writing unreviewed guesses.
Photographers leaving cloud-first workflows
Use a Mac-native tool that favors review, reversibility, and clear privacy boundaries.
Privacy and trust
The point is to restore context without creating a second problem.
Local by default
Imported Timeline data and match decisions are processed on-device. There is no account system and no marketing analytics on the app workflow.
Explicit Apple integrations
Apple map tiles may load while you inspect the map, and rich place labels use Apple geocoding only if you choose to enable that option.
Review before write
Placeframe distinguishes between proposed matches and approved writes so photographers stay in control of their library.
“Suggestions are not truth.”
That product attitude shows up everywhere in the app: confidence badges, day-based review, map inspection, optional place-label enrichment, and one final moment of judgment before anything lands in Apple Photos.
Read the full privacy policyBefore launch
Questions photographers ask first.
Does Placeframe upload my Google Timeline export?
No. Timeline parsing and matching run locally on your Mac by default.
Does it work with Apple Photos?
Yes. Placeframe is built around Apple Photos libraries and writes approved metadata back into Apple Photos locally.
Why mention Apple geocoding and map tiles?
Because privacy language should stay next to the real behavior. Rich place labels are optional, and map inspection can load Apple map tiles for the visible region.
Is the Mac App Store version available yet?
Not yet. The marketing site is live now, and the Mac App Store listing is being prepared.
Stay in the loop
Want the first note when Placeframe lands?
The release path is simple: ship the Mac App Store build, keep the privacy posture legible, and let photographers try it without theater.