Dropbox/Google Drive last modified dates incorrect in Finder

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Level 1

4 points

Dropbox/Google Drive last modified dates incorrect in Finder

Hi! I'm using mac book pro M2 2022 with Tahoe 26.3. Dropbox just announced that they hade migrated to Apple's file syncing system, and now the last modified date on all my folders are set to today's date which causes a lot of trouble.

I've experienced this problem in my Google Drive folders for a long time where last modified date no longer reflects the last time I changed something in the folder but instead keep updating to the last sync date (usually some time the last 24h).

As a result of this I have used Dropbox more lately, but now the same problem have occurred there. However, in my Icloud Drive last modified reflects the last change, but due to several reasons I can't move all files there and need to keep using Google Drive and Dropbox.

Is it intentionally that Apple does not allow third party file systems to have accurate last modified date on folders in Finder or is it a way to fix this?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 26.3

Posted on Feb 20, 2026 1:30 AM

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Answer 1

Zurarczurx

Level 5

4,449 points

Mar 2, 2026 5:18 AM in response to ewok3

There are lots of date options for files and folders in MacOS - date created, added, modified and, for media, last played and many Apple apps like media players, Spotlight and Time Machine use those dates so I can't see Apple making changes because of the way third party providers modify them.

You can send feedback to Apple but I doubt if they will consider it needs fixing, never mind actually change it. IMO you'd be better off complaining to Google and Drop Box.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/

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Answer 2

Zurarczurx

Level 5

4,449 points

Feb 20, 2026 5:01 AM in response to ewok3

If you want to change the dates to something more meaningful to you then open Terminal and use touch

touch -t 202512010900  /User/Eric/Desktop/picture23.png

will change the file modification date to 1st Dec 2025 09:00; format is yyyymmddhhmm. You can drag and drop a file or group of files to terminal from Finder to make things easier. Make sure you leave a space after the date before you drop the files in.

I don't use Dropbox so if you do this with files on disc then there's a risk that Dropbox will change them back when you synch them. I don't know how Dropbox works so if they are in a special folder on your Mac then touch might not work with them. No harm in trying though.

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

123,414 points

Feb 20, 2026 4:35 AM in response to ewok3

Folder modification dates have never been reliable in macOS, even before File Provider. If Apple has made changes at some point to keep the folders updated, I’m unaware as I never rely on the folder modification dates.

If they all work correctly in iCloud Drive, maybe Apple is going through and touching the folders when the contents change.

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Answer 4

ewok3 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 2, 2026 4:52 AM in response to ewok3

Thank you for your answers. I wasn't aware the dates have always been unreliable. However for me this is not a matter of exact dates, but before I used to be able to sort folders on last edit date in order to have the most relevant on top. This seem to work good enough in iCloud and locally on my Mac on folders that are not synced. But as soon as folders sync on Google Drive or Dropbox the last sync date is displayed and all folders receive the same even though underlying files in the folder have correct last edited dates.

Then I know that there is nothing else to do then hoping for Apple to fix this in File Provider. :)

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