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Level 1

27 points

Can you tag/label photos in iPhone/iOS?

I have been searching for an answer to this for ages but not found anything.

Essentially I want to 'tag/label' my photos within the iPhone iOS' default 'Photos' app so I can use the search function.

I can do this easily on my Macbook; select one or multiple photos, go to the Window/Info or bring up the photo(s) properties and under "Info", add one or more labels to the 'Keywords' area. Then, from any of my Apple devices, I can search my photos using any of those labels/tags i have created and added to my photos.

But i cannot do this labelling from the iPhone itself - only the Macbook through the Photos app. And I have not found an app in iOS which does this exact same labelling in the same way. Some apps mimic this functionality *only* within the app itself (ie: you need to use that app to search photos and doesn't work outside of the app). I want the tags/labels added to the photos in my Apple account so they are searchable across all my Apple devices.

So, does anyone know :

1) How I can do the same tagging/labelling on the iPhone the Macbook can do in Photos?

2) Any app which can do this functionality which applies to the Photos across all my Apple devices

(I have seen an Apple article from Oct 2013 which says how to do this on the old iPhoto app which is no longer applicable)

iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 9.1

Posted on Aug 4, 2016 2:28 AM

Best reply

rob4732

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Nov 11, 2017 4:56 AM

How can Apple not have such a fundamental feature in Photos. I am on the precipice of jumping off the Apple cliff and dumping all my Apple products. Every time I search the web on how to do something with an Apple product I invariably get the response: ‘You can’t do the with Apple’. Mind boggling. Apple: are you listening?

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29 replies

da1968

Level 1

4 points

Feb 17, 2018 4:25 AM in response to iSaWcH

on your iPhone, tap the photo you have just taken (bottom left of screen) so that it is displayed on screen > tap edit > tap the circle with three dots in the top centre > tap markup > tap ok to turn off live photo for this photo > tap the plus sign in the bottom right > tap text > you can add and move around a label for the photo.

Aug 4, 2016 2:35 AM in response to iSaWcH

I Have not personally used this app, but after some research, this seemed like it would what you're looking to do.

Exif Editor and Viewer by Harald Meyer

https://appsto.re/au/s5pyH.i

This app will edit the metadata of the photos, but you will not be able to search for the photos and find them through the photos app on your iPhone, no app will be able to do this.

iSaWcH Author

Level 1

27 points

Aug 4, 2016 2:48 AM in response to Joel Atkinson

I have had a look into this and yes, it didn't do what I had hoped.

I was/am still surprised the functionality I'm looking for isn't native to the Photos app in iOS. Seems like a strange thing to omit.

Aug 4, 2016 2:53 AM in response to iSaWcH

You can't search metadata in photos through the iPhone Photos app, so essentially what you're looking for doesn't exist. I believe there are some updates to the Photos app in iOS 10, which may help you do what you are trying to do.

iSaWcH Author

Level 1

27 points

Aug 4, 2016 2:56 AM in response to Joel Atkinson

So.. what is happening then, when I update that 'Keywords' field in the Photos app in OSX? As I can label a bunch of photos as 'Funny' and 'Animals', etc and then in my iPhone, within the Photos app, use the 'search' and it finds exactly and only those photos I 'labelled/tagged' from within OSX.

Apologies I am not an expert at this stuff and perhaps have wrongly assumed it was a default exif metadata field being used.

cb9501

Level 1

8 points

Nov 10, 2016 11:41 AM in response to iSaWcH

I too am wondering if there is an app that can do this for iOS. I am on Android and there is a great app called f-stop that can do it, but it doesn't appear they have an iOS counterpart. I have a customer that I'm trying to replicate my android photo management solution for. Easily adding tags and ratings into photo's exif data is the best way to make a portable, organized photo library. Google's photos service no longer trashes exif data on backed up photos too (not sure if true on iOS photos), so the world is one step closer to my perfect solution :)

Onut

Level 1

4 points

Jun 28, 2017 3:37 PM in response to Jpstamp

You cannot do that to 5-6k photos...

iOS 11 with its Files app seems to be able to add searchable tags to iOS files, but, alas, no acces to photos from Files

Scheeja

Level 1

4 points

Jul 5, 2017 2:57 PM in response to iSaWcH

If you use iCloud photo library, and use photos on your Mac to tag photos (right click, get info, I believe) then you can search them from your iOS devices

nikoolma

Level 1

4 points

Sep 17, 2017 1:05 PM in response to iSaWcH

Indeed nowadays mobile photos is such an extension of our daily memories I am surprised that this desktop only "tagging" feature has still not been extended to iPhone yet.