How to Show Dates in Google Photos: Fix Hidden Headers
Google Photos still has a setting that restores date headers in the grid. The app just switched it off by default and buried it several menus deep, which amounts to the same thing for anyone who relied on it. This guide covers how to show dates in Google Photos again, using the two routes reported for restoring the setting: Profile icon → Photos settings → Preferences → Photos view → Show dates in grid, or a shortcut through the floating date pill's own menu.
Google's Android redesign began rolling out broadly in early July 2026, replacing the app's always-visible date headers with a floating pill that appears briefly while scrolling and then fades out (9to5Google; The Verge). Without a fixed header, photos run together as one continuous stream with no visual break between one day and the next (Android Authority). One Android Authority reviewer put it plainly: the day-by-day breakdown quietly disappeared earlier this year, and there was no obvious explanation for where it went (Android Authority).
The Google Photos redesign date setting, explained
The redesign uses two separate floating elements, and it's worth telling them apart before changing anything. One is the new bottom navigation bar: a rounded pill hovering above the grid with tabs for Photos, Collections, and Create, plus a circular button on the right that opens Search and the Gemini-powered Ask Photos feature, replacing the old docked bar entirely (Gadget Hacks). 9to5Google noted similar floating navigation already in use in Google Chat and Google Finance, so the shape isn't unique to Photos (9to5Google).
The other pill is the date indicator: a separate floating label that surfaces at the top of the screen while scrolling and disappears a moment later (9to5Google). This guide is only about turning that second pill into a permanent fixture again. Changing this setting does not restore the old bottom navigation bar; that's a separate piece of the redesign with no documented toggle of its own.
Menu wording and exact rollout timing can vary slightly by device and app version, so if a screen doesn't match these steps precisely, look for the closest equivalent label rather than assuming the option is missing.
How to show photo dates on the Google Photos home screen
Use this route if you can't find the floating pill's menu, or if you'd rather not chase a fading indicator mid-scroll. It's also the more reliably documented option, so start here if the shortcut in the next section doesn't behave as expected.
- Open the Google Photos app.
- Tap the profile icon in the upper-right corner.
- Tap Photos settings.
- Tap Preferences.
- Tap Photos view.
- Tap the toggle next to Show dates in grid to turn it on. It's off by default (Android Authority).
Once enabled, "Today," "Yesterday," or the calendar date sits as a permanent divider between groups of photos instead of vanishing after a second of scrolling. In the grid, its visible effect is simple: the label either stays put or floats and fades, and this toggle decides which.
Bring back dates in Google Photos with the grid setting
If the redesign has already reached your phone, there's a faster route that skips Settings and flips the same toggle from wherever you happen to be scrolling.
- Open the Photos tab and scroll down slightly until the floating date pill appears at the top of the screen (The Verge).
- Tap the three-dot overflow menu next to that pill (9to5Google).
- Select Show dates in grid.
The result matches the Settings path exactly: fixed date headers return, and the floating pill stops appearing since it's no longer doing anything (9to5Google; Gadget Hacks). If that overflow menu never shows up no matter how far you scroll, go back to the Settings route above rather than hunting for it further.
If you're on iPhone
Google has said the date-grid toggle is rolling out on both iOS and Android (iPhone in Canada). The underlying redesign itself has been live on iPhones since February 2026, before the Android version arrived in July (Gadget Hacks).
Reporting doesn't confirm the exact iPhone tap sequence for the date toggle. Check Photos settings under the profile icon once the update reaches your device, since that's the equivalent entry point on Android. The cited reporting doesn't identify another workaround, so if the option isn't there yet, waiting for the rollout to catch up is the only documented option.
How readers reacted to losing the dates
Android Authority's informal reader poll found that 80% wanted the dates restored, 20% didn't care either way, and 0% preferred the dateless grid (Android Authority). A separate reader poll on the broader redesign found 68% thought the new interface looked great (Android Authority). Both are informal reader polls rather than controlled studies, so treat the numbers as a temperature check, not a verdict.
Google framed the fix as a response to user requests generally, not to this specific complaint. Shimrit Ben-Yair, Google's VP and GM for Google Photos, Google One, and AI subscriptions, described the update as small fixes tied to feedback: "Feedback received and papercuts fixed! We've just rolled out two small fixes in Google Photos based on your requests" (iPhone in Canada).
If Google Photos dates are not showing
If the setting is missing after you've followed the steps above, check whether the redesign has reached your phone and whether you're looking in the correct menu.
The redesign hasn't reached your phone yet. Gadget Hacks reported the update rolling out via a server-side push tied to version 7.82 (Gadget Hacks). Covering the same rollout, 9to5Google recommends force-stopping Google Photos 7.83 from App info, but because the change is server-side, this may not make the option appear immediately (9to5Google).
The overflow menu hasn't appeared. It only shows up after scrolling down in the Photos tab; it isn't visible the moment the app opens (The Verge). Scroll a bit further before assuming the option isn't there.
The menu still won't show. Skip it and use the route explicitly laid out in Android Authority's walkthrough instead: Profile icon → Photos settings → Preferences → Photos view (Android Authority).
Google Photos date labels in photo grid: what changes
Enabling the toggle restores day-by-day separation. It addresses the complaint described in the reporting about photos being lumped together with no clear break between one day and the next (Android Authority). There's one small cosmetic difference from before the redesign: the restored labels are centered, where they used to sit left-aligned (9to5Google).
In the grid, the setting changes how date headers are displayed. It doesn't touch photo metadata, sorting, or anything else about how your library is organized.
What it won't do is bring back the old docked navigation bar. The cited reporting doesn't identify any setting for restoring that older layout (Gadget Hacks).
Where this leaves things
Turning on Show dates in grid, whether through Settings or the floating pill's overflow menu, solves the specific problem this guide set out to fix. Google also added an opt-out toggle for a sticker-shimmer animation the same week it addressed grid dates, a separate fix rolled out alongside this one (iPhone in Canada).
Date headers can be restored. The old bottom navigation bar currently can't, and no reporting so far has identified a way around it.
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