OneDrive File Issues

How to Find OneDrive Photos Taken on the Same Day in Different Years

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants to know if they can search their OneDrive photo library to view all photos taken on a specific calendar date (such as December 9) regardless of the year.

Product: Microsoft OneDrive
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Looking for a way to filter or search for photo memories linked to a specific recurring calendar date across multiple years.
Observed behavior: OneDrive currently lacks a reliable search filter for specific days and months; searches rely mostly on file names rather than photo metadata.

Before you start

Check whether your mobile device names photo files using dates (e.g., 'IMG_20201209.jpg'), as this determines if a file name search will be effective.

Solution 1Recommended

Search Using Specific Date Strings in File Names

Since OneDrive searches primarily look at file names rather than EXIF metadata, you can search for numbers corresponding to the month and day if your camera includes them in the file name.

Many Android and iOS devices automatically include the date in the file name when a photo is taken. By typing a specific number string, you may be able to pull up photos from that day.

Open OneDrive Search

Enter the Date String

Type the specific month and day in the format your camera uses. For example, if you are looking for December 9, try searching '1209'.

Review Results

Browse the search results. OneDrive will display any files containing that specific string of numbers in the file name.

Search Limitations: This method relies entirely on file names. It is not foolproof and may return unrelated files containing the same number sequence.

Solution 2

Utilize Device-Native Photo Apps for Metadata Searching

If you want to search purely by calendar date metadata, it is best to use a dedicated photo application like Google Photos or Apple Photos linked to your device storage.

Solution 3

Manually Organize Recurring Calendar Dates into Albums

For important recurring dates like anniversaries or birthdays, manually grouping them into a custom OneDrive album provides easy access in the future.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does OneDrive have an 'On This Day' feature?

Yes, the OneDrive mobile app occasionally sends automated 'On This Day' notifications to show you memories from past years. However, it does not allow users to manually trigger this search for an arbitrary calendar date.

Why can't I search OneDrive photos by EXIF date metadata?

OneDrive’s search engine is currently optimized for finding file names, text within documents, and AI-generated visual tags (like 'dog' or 'beach'). It has not yet implemented a robust search filter for extracting and sorting by the EXIF 'date taken' property across all years.

How can I sort my OneDrive photos by month and year?

You can view your photos chronologically by clicking the 'Photos' tab in OneDrive. This timeline view automatically groups your uploaded pictures by month and year, allowing you to quickly scroll to a specific time period.

Document & File Issues