Switching Google Photos to OneDrive - is metadata preserved?

With Google Photos → OneDrive, that’s where things get messy.

The short answer is it depends on how you transfer the files. If you want to preserve the "Date Taken" and get the correct sorting order, a simple direct transfer usually fails because Google separates the photo and its data into two files.

OneDrive itself does preserve EXIF “Date Taken”

The problem is that Google’s export often splits or loses that metadata structure

That’s why people see “everything sorted by upload date”

But…

• Moving from Google Photos to OneDrive is generally fine.
• The main risk is losing correct “Date Taken” information during transfer.
• This happens because Google Takeout may store some metadata in separate .json files that OneDrive ignores.
• If that metadata is lost, photos may sort by upload date instead of when they were taken.

Recommended approach

1. Export photos with Google Takeout
2. Use a tool to merge/fix metadata if needed
3. Test a small batch in OneDrive first
4. Only then move the full library

Bottom line

• Yes, you can switch
• No, don’t blindly upload everything immediately
• If done carefully, your photos should keep the correct chronological order.

My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

Hope this will help you.