PicOrderPhotos arriving out of order? Send them in the order you picked.
Apps have to ask your phone to keep the order you tapped. Most never do. PicOrder numbers every photo, so the order survives anyway.
No upload. Nothing leaves your device.
Why your photos arrive out of order
It is not you. Every app has opinions about order. None of them asked yours.
WhatsApp strips the metadata your gallery sorts by and renames each file with the date it arrived. The chat may look right; the batch scrambles once the other person saves it.
iMessage
Messages does not keep the order you picked, and Apple has never said why. The shuffle is already there in the draft, before you hit send, and people have reported it since iOS 14.
Android
Android only hands over your tap order if the app asks for it. The flag exists, and it is off by default — with it off, the picker falls back to sorting by the date each photo was taken.
How to send photos in order
Three taps in PicOrder, and the order survives WhatsApp, iMessage and Android.
- 1
1
2
3
4Tap in your order
Every tap takes the next number, in the order you tapped.
- 21234
Drag to rearrange
Hold and move any photo. The numbers follow.
- 3Delivered, in order1234
Send
They land in your order, numbered, in any app.
Numbers are optional
Punch them in when the order matters. Leave them off and the filenames and timestamps still hold your sequence.
- Colour
- Size
- Corner
- Transparent
- Font
- Or none
1234Your order is written three times over
Whatever the receiving app decides to sort by, one of these wins.
In the pixels
123In the filenames
01.jpg02.jpg03.jpgIn the timestamps
09:41:0109:41:0209:41:03
Try it in your browser right nowTry it right now
No install, no sign-up. Pick photos, drag them into order, download a zip of numbered copies.
Open PicOrder for webOpen PicOrderEverything runs on your device. The page never sends your photos anywhere.Everything runs on your device. Your photos never leave it.
Everything in the app
Built to do one job properly.
Selection order, kept
The number on each photo is the position you picked it. Not its date, not its filename.
Drag to rearrange
Change your mind without going back to the gallery. Hold a photo, drag it, and the rest move aside.
Style the numbers
Four typefaces, six colours, a background plate or none at all, and a size that suits your photos.
Put them anywhere
Any corner or dead centre. Or switch numbers off and keep just the ordered filenames.
Originals untouched
PicOrder works on copies. Save the numbered versions to your gallery if you want them. Your library stays as it was.
Processed on your device
Numbering happens on your phone, so your photos are never uploaded.
Watch how it works
Four minutes, start to finish: picking photos in order, styling the numbers, and sending them to WhatsApp on iPhone and Android.
- 1Pick photos in the order you want
- 2Drag any photo to rearrange the batch
- 3Choose where the number goes and how it looks
- 4Send to WhatsApp and watch them arrive in order
Free tools
Two ways to put photos in order. Both run in your browser and never upload anything.
Questions
The short answers. The guides have the long ones.
Why do my photos send out of order?
Because the order you tap photos in is not stored in the photos. It is a separate list, and both iPhone and Android make keeping it something each app has to ask for — most never do. The receiving app then arranges the batch its own way, often by the date each photo was taken. PicOrder puts the number into the picture itself, which is the only place the order survives.
Is there a setting on my phone to send photos in order?
No. There is no setting for it on iPhone or Android, and none in WhatsApp, iMessage or email. Fixing Date & Time, restarting, or resetting settings do not help either, because the order is dropped before anything is sent. The only reliable fixes are sending one photo per message, or putting the number into each photo before you send.
Does sending photos one at a time keep them in order?
Yes, and it is the only built-in way that guarantees it. It also sends one notification per photo and leaves a chat nobody can scroll, so it stops being practical past about five pictures. PicOrder lets you send the whole batch in one message and still have it read in order.
Does the order survive after they save the photos?
Yes. The number is part of the image, not a caption or metadata, so it is still there when the photos are saved to a gallery, forwarded, printed, or looked at a year later. Filenames and timestamps are usually stripped by messaging apps; a number in the pixels cannot be.
Which apps does PicOrder work with?
All of them. WhatsApp, iMessage, Messages, email, Instagram, Google Photos, Samsung Gallery — because the number is in the photo, it does not depend on any app keeping your order. You number the batch first, then share it wherever you normally would.
Is PicOrder free?
Yes, for batches of up to 10 photos, with the number size adjustable. Pro removes the batch limit and unlocks colours, typefaces, position and the option to turn numbers off, from $4.99 a month or $59.99 once. No trial and no card needed for the free version.
Does PicOrder change my original photos?
No. It works on copies. Your originals stay exactly as they are in your library, and you can keep both the numbered and the unnumbered set.
Are my photos uploaded anywhere?
No. The numbering happens on your device — on your phone or inside your browser — and the photos never leave it. The iPhone and Android apps have no analytics. This website uses Google Analytics to count visits and which buttons are used, and it never sees your photos.
Do I need to install anything?
No. PicOrder for web runs in your browser on any device — iPhone, Android, or a computer — and does the same job. The iPhone and Android apps add the system share sheet so you can send straight into WhatsApp or Messages.