diff --git a/templates/upload.html b/templates/upload.html
index 5906975..54dc5ab 100644
--- a/templates/upload.html
+++ b/templates/upload.html
@@ -62,7 +62,23 @@
       width: 100%;
       height: 100%;
       object-fit: cover;
+      pointer-events: none;
     }
+    .change-hint {
+      display: none;
+      position: absolute;
+      inset: auto 0 0 0;
+      padding: 6px 10px;
+      background: rgba(29, 32, 33, 0.75);
+      color: var(--fg2);
+      font-family: monospace;
+      font-size: 11px;
+      text-transform: uppercase;
+      letter-spacing: 0.08em;
+      text-align: center;
+      pointer-events: none;
+    }
+    .drop-zone.has-image .change-hint { display: block; }
     .field { margin-bottom: 18px; }
     .field label {
       display: block;
@@ -129,6 +145,7 @@
         <small>jpg or png</small>
       </div>
       <img id="preview" alt="Preview">
+      <div class="change-hint">Click to change</div>
     </div>
 
     <div class="field">
@@ -156,7 +173,54 @@
 
     dateInput.value = new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 10);
 
-    fileInput.addEventListener('change', () => {
+    // Read DateTimeOriginal from a JPEG's EXIF APP1 segment. Returns "YYYY-MM-DD"
+    // or null if the file isn't a JPEG, has no EXIF, or lacks the tag.
+    async function readExifDate(file) {
+      if (!/jpe?g$/i.test(file.type) && !/\.jpe?g$/i.test(file.name)) return null;
+      const buf  = await file.slice(0, 65536).arrayBuffer();
+      const view = new DataView(buf);
+      if (view.getUint16(0) !== 0xFFD8) return null;
+
+      let offset = 2;
+      while (offset + 4 < view.byteLength) {
+        const marker = view.getUint16(offset);
+        if (marker < 0xFF00) return null;
+        const size = view.getUint16(offset + 2);
+        if (marker === 0xFFE1 && view.getUint32(offset + 4) === 0x45786966) {
+          const tiff   = offset + 10;
+          const little = view.getUint16(tiff) === 0x4949;
+          const get16  = (o) => view.getUint16(o, little);
+          const get32  = (o) => view.getUint32(o, little);
+          const ifd0   = tiff + get32(tiff + 4);
+
+          let exifIfd = 0;
+          const n = get16(ifd0);
+          for (let i = 0; i < n; i++) {
+            const e = ifd0 + 2 + i * 12;
+            if (get16(e) === 0x8769) { exifIfd = tiff + get32(e + 8); break; }
+          }
+          if (!exifIfd) return null;
+
+          const en = get16(exifIfd);
+          for (let i = 0; i < en; i++) {
+            const e = exifIfd + 2 + i * 12;
+            if (get16(e) === 0x9003) {
+              const count   = get32(e + 4);
+              const dataOff = count > 4 ? tiff + get32(e + 8) : e + 8;
+              let s = '';
+              for (let k = 0; k < count - 1; k++) s += String.fromCharCode(view.getUint8(dataOff + k));
+              const m = s.match(/^(\d{4}):(\d{2}):(\d{2})/);
+              return m ? `${m[1]}-${m[2]}-${m[3]}` : null;
+            }
+          }
+          return null;
+        }
+        offset += 2 + size;
+      }
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    fileInput.addEventListener('change', async () => {
       const file = fileInput.files[0];
       if (!file) return;
       const url = URL.createObjectURL(file);
@@ -168,6 +232,13 @@
       submitBtn.disabled = false;
       feedback.className = '';
       feedback.style.display = 'none';
+
+      let d = null;
+      try { d = await readExifDate(file); } catch (_) {}
+      if (!d && file.lastModified) {
+        d = new Date(file.lastModified).toISOString().slice(0, 10);
+      }
+      if (d) dateInput.value = d;
     });
 
     submitBtn.addEventListener('click', async () => {