How to Save the Writing on the Back of Old Photos
Scan the back of any photo that has writing on it, right after its front, and copy the key facts (date, names, place) into the photo’s caption and date. A scan of the front alone loses the one thing nobody can recover later.
Why the back matters
Handwritten notes on the back are often the only record of who is in a photo. Printed lab stamps can also show roughly when it was developed. Once the people who wrote them are gone, that information is gone too. Auto-crop can make it worse: some scanning apps trim off dates written along the edge of the front, a complaint that shows up in App Store reviews.
Step 1: Scan front, then back, back to back
Scan the front, flip the print in the same spot, and scan the back immediately. Keeping the two next to each other in your camera roll makes them easy to pair later. Light, low-contrast pencil scans better with light from the side.
Step 2: Keep the pair together
Pick one method and stick to it:
- Same album, in order: front, then back. Simple, but easy to shuffle.
- Name the files (“1972_Grandma_Lake_front.jpg” and ”…_back.jpg”) when you export to a computer.
- A scanning app that links the back to the front so they always travel together.
Step 3: Copy the facts into the photo itself
A scan of the handwriting is only searchable if you also type out what it says.
- Caption: in the Photos app, open the photo and swipe up to add a caption with names and place, for example “Aunt Rose and Dad, Lake Tahoe”.
- Date: tap the ••• button, then Adjust Date & Time, and set the date from the back. If it only says “Summer ‘72”, use July 1, 1972 and note “approx.” in the caption.
- People: tag faces so the Photos app can group them.
Step 4: When the back is blank
- Check the print’s border style, paper and processing stamps. They hint at the decade.
- Look for clues in the photo: cars, clothes, signs.
- Ask relatives. A shared album with a “Who is this?” caption often gets answers within days.
Don’t do this
- Don’t write on the back of prints with ballpoint or marker. It can press through or bleed. If you must label originals, use a soft pencil on the edge of the back.
- Don’t peel off old tape or labels to read underneath. Scan them as they are.