Samsung Smart Switch PHOTO_INFO.json Format (Observed)

Scope

This documents the Samsung Smart Switch / easyMover PHOTO_INFO.json shape as observed from one personal Galaxy S24+ backup:

SmartSwitch tmp\PHOTO\PHOTO_INFO.json (Galaxy S24+, SM-S926U)
Root count was 131 in that sample, matching files.length

Those counts are example numbers from that one personal dataset. Other backups will differ.

This is a source-shape reference for phone recovery and media correlation. It is not a PluralBridge ontology and it is not the Simply Plural simply.db JSON (see samsung-smart-switch-simply-db-format.md).

Field lists below are a union over the observed files records in the sample. Personal paths, file names, and downloadUri values from the sample are not copied here.

Record Tree Key

🟢 Always present on every files record in this sample.
🟡 Optional: present on some records only.
🔴 Not a reliable original-creation signal for Simply Plural recovery.

Record Tree

PHOTO_INFO.json (object)
├─ 🟢 categoryType  (string, observed "PHOTO")
├─ 🟢 count         (number, observed 131)
└─ 🟢 files[]       (array of photo records)
   └─ photo record
      ├─ 🟢 FilePath
      ├─ 🟢 FileName
      ├─ 🟢 Length
      ├─ 🔴 Taken
      ├─ 🔴 DateModified
      ├─ 🟡 RecentPrimary
      ├─ 🟢 Id
      ├─ 🟢 SecmpId
      ├─ 🟢 SefType
      ├─ 🟢 SefSubType
      ├─ 🟢 type2
      ├─ 🟢 CategoryType
      ├─ 🟡 ownerPackageName2
      ├─ 🟡 GrpType
      ├─ 🟡 GrpId
      ├─ 🟡 downloadUri
      ├─ 🟡 SefTypes
      ├─ 🟡 OriginHash
      ├─ 🟡 OriginSize
      ├─ 🟡 BestImage
      └─ 🟡 Orientation

Root categoryType and each record's CategoryType were both "PHOTO" in this sample.

Root object

Field	Type	Description
`categoryType`	string	Media category for this file. Observed: `PHOTO`.
`count`	number	Declared record count. Observed equal to `files.length`.
`files`	array	Photo metadata records.

Record Types

[🟢] files[] photo record — always present

Field	Type	Description
`FilePath`	string	Device path. Strong recovery evidence.
`FileName`	string	File name on device. Strong recovery evidence.
`Length`	number	File size in bytes.
`Taken`	number	Timestamp in milliseconds. Present on every record. Not a reliable original creation time for batch-indexed Simply Plural / VZMedia / download rows.
`DateModified`	number	Timestamp in milliseconds. Same caveat as `Taken`.
`RecentPrimary`	number	Always present in this sample. About 1000× `DateModified` (microseconds vs milliseconds). Samsung media-index / recency, usually close to `DateModified`.
`Id`	number	Samsung photo-record id. Separate sequence from `SecmpId`. Not strong Simply Plural recovery evidence.
`SecmpId`	number	Always present. In this sample every value has the `0x80000000` bit set (Samsung `sec_media_id` style). Not `Id + 0x80000000`; `Id` and `SecmpId` are different sequences. Not strong Simply Plural recovery evidence.
`SefType`	number	Almost always `0` in this sample; a few records used `2608`. Meaning not documented here.
`SefSubType`	number	Always `0` in this sample.
`type2`	string	Always `MEDIA` in this sample.
`CategoryType`	string	Always `PHOTO` in this sample.

[🟡] files[] photo record — optional

Counts are out of 131 records in this sample.

Field	Type	Count	Description
`ownerPackageName2`	string	126	App that owned or ingested the file (Chrome, Downloads UI, Gmail, Photos, and others). Missing on 5 records.
`GrpType`	number	67	Observed `0` or `2`. Absent on the rest.
`downloadUri`	string	43	Source URL when the file was fetched (browser, Photos, and similar). May contain signed query strings. Do not commit sample values.
`SefTypes`	string	11	Comma-wrapped code list, for example `,3169,2721,`. Related to `SefType` but not identical.
`GrpId`	number	8	Group id when present.
`OriginHash`	string	5	Hash plus size fragment. Observed length about 71–72 characters.
`OriginSize`	number	5	Appears with `OriginHash`.
`BestImage`	number	1	Observed `1` on a single record.
`Orientation`	number	1	Observed `90` on a single record.

Path prefixes in this sample

Directory prefixes only (not file names):

Count	Directory
75	`/mnt/sdcard/Download`
29	`/mnt/sdcard/DCIM/SimplyPlural`
21	`/mnt/sdcard/VZMedia`
3	`/mnt/sdcard/dbr-preview-img`
3	`/mnt/sdcard/DCIM/Restored`

Treat /mnt/sdcard/DCIM/SimplyPlural as one directory prefix among several in this sample. It is not the Simply Plural avatar store.

Many DCIM/SimplyPlural / VZMedia / Download-UI records share a batch index window around 24 July 2024 (Taken / DateModified clustered). Those timestamps cannot be treated as original capture time.

Recovery use

For Simply Plural recovery, the strongest evidence from this file is:

FilePath
FileName
Simply Plural member / avatar metadata from the app or an official export

This catalog describes gallery files that happened to be in the photos transfer. It is not a map of uploaded member avatars.

Do not treat Samsung internal ids (Id, SecmpId) or the timestamp fields as proof of when a member avatar was originally created. Do not copy downloadUri values into git; they can include signed URLs.