Sometimes you may need to change the date associated with a life event that you have posted on Facebook, like a birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion. Fortunately, Facebook allows you to edit the dates for life events that you have added to your profile. Here are some quick answers about how to change the date on a Facebook life event:
– You can only edit the dates of life events you have added yourself, not ones added by others.
– To edit a date, go to your profile, click on the life event you want to modify, click the options icon (3 dots or downward arrow), and select “Edit Date”.
– When changing a date, you can only modify the day, month, and/or year. You cannot change the life event type itself.
– Changing the date will update it wherever that life event is displayed on Facebook, including your timeline, info section, and friends’ news feeds.
– You can backdate a life event date by up to 30 days from the current date. You cannot set a future date.
– If you want to add a new life event with a different date, you’ll need to add an additional instance of that event rather than just changing the date.
Accessing Your Facebook Life Events
To change the date of a life event on Facebook, you first need to navigate to where your life events are listed. Here are the steps to access your profile life events on desktop and mobile:
On Desktop
1. Go to facebook.com and log into your account.
2. Click on your profile picture in the top right.
3. From the drop-down menu, select “View Profile”.
4. On your timeline page, you will see your bio info, featured photos and life events in the left column.
5. Scroll down through your info section to find your list of life events.
On Mobile
1. Open the Facebook app on your phone.
2. Tap on the hamburger menu icon in the top right.
3. Choose “Profile” from the menu.
4. On your profile page, tap on the “Info” tab below your cover photo.
5. Scroll down to find your life events below your bio info.
Once you have accessed your profile life events, you can select the one you want to modify and edit the date.
Editing the Date of a Life Event
When you have found the life event you want to change the date for, follow these steps:
On Desktop
1. Hover your mouse over the life event and click the three dots that appear to the right.
2. From the pop-up menu, choose “Edit Date”.
3. This will open up a date selector box. Use the drop-down menus to choose the correct day, month, and year.
4. Once you have the right date entered, click “Save” at the bottom of the selector.
On Mobile
1. Tap on the life event to open the details pop-up.
2. Tap on the three dots in the top right corner.
3. Select “Edit Date” from the menu.
4. This will bring up a date picker wheel. Spin each wheel to select the correct day, month and year.
5. Tap “Done” once you have the right date set.
The life event’s date will now be updated throughout Facebook.
Other Date Editing Options
In addition to the steps outlined above, there are a couple other ways you can modify the date of a Facebook life event:
– From your info section, click on the pencil icon to edit your entire bio. Within the bio editor you can change any life event dates.
– From within the life event pop-up details, tap “Edit Life Event” to change the date along with the title, photo, and other info for that event.
– Use the Facebook mobile app to edit your profile info and life event dates. The process is the same but gives you editing ability on the go.
So those are a few options to access the date editing interface through different paths on desktop and mobile. The result is the same – an updated date that will now display for that life event across Facebook.
Important Date Editing Limitations
While you do have the ability to change dates for your existing life events, there are some limitations to be aware of:
– You can only modify life events that you have added yourself, not ones added by friends.
– You can backdate an event to up to 30 days in the past from the current date. You cannot set a future date.
– If you want to “change” a life event’s date to a different year, you’ll need to add that as a separate instance of the life event rather than just editing the existing one.
– You cannot change a life event to a different type – only modify the specific date associated with that event.
– There may be additional restrictions on dates for certain life event types like employment and education.
So in summary, you can edit the dates but not the actual life event type or details. And there are limits to how far back or forward you can shift dates, to prevent misuse. Keep these Facebook date editing rules in mind as you update your life events.
Why Edit Life Event Dates?
There are a few main reasons why you may want to go back and change the date associated with a life event on Facebook:
– **Incorrect date** – You may have accidentally posted the wrong date originally, and want to fix it to display the correct date.
– **Changed circumstances** – If an event gets postponed or rescheduled, you likely want to update the date on Facebook.
– **Backdating an event** – Sometimes you forget to add a life event right away and want to backdate it to the date it actually occurred.
– **Date formatting** – You might want to edit the date formatting, like displaying the year or not, or rearranging the day/month order.
– **Privacy** – In some cases, you may want to modify dates slightly to protect privacy or display a less specific date.
In any of these situations, the ability to change the dates of your Facebook life events comes in handy. It ensures your profile displays accurate info while giving you some flexibility to adjust details or fix mistakes.
Tips for Changing Life Event Dates
Here are some tips to help make the process of editing Facebook life event dates quick and easy:
– Double check that you have the right date before saving changes. It can be hard to edit again later.
– Consider privacy before backdating events too far – do you want that event showing up in old posts and memories?
– For minor date shifts, edit the existing event. But for larger changes, add a new separate instance.
– To change the date format or order, create a duplicate of the life event and then delete the old version.
– Use the Facebook mobile app if you want to change dates on the go from your phone.
– Adjust related profile details like work history if you change employment dates.
– Update any posts or photos that reference the life event to match the new date.
Following these tips will allow you to seamlessly edit life event dates on Facebook when needed.
Example Reasons to Change Specific Life Event Dates
Here are some examples of why you may want to change the date for certain life events:
Birthday
– Entered the wrong birthdate originally.
– Want to display just birth year instead of full date.
– Prefer to use zodiac sign instead of actual date.
Anniversary
– Got married on a different date than what’s displayed.
– Made a mistake when first adding the anniversary date.
– Want to change to display date married vs. date anniversary is.
Started New Job
– Employment start date changed after delaying start.
– Originally posted estimated start date then want to revise to actual.
– Employer changed official employment start date retroactively.
Moved
– Relocated on a different date than what is currently showing.
– Backdating move date to keep location private from old posts.
– Changed move-in date after closing date was delayed.
Graduated From
– Graduation ceremony date changed due to weather.
– Completed degree requirements on a different date.
– Posted graduation date but want to change to date started attending instead.
So in any of these situations, the ability to modify the dates comes in very handy!
How Changing Dates Affects Facebook Features
When you edit the date for a life event, this change will flow through and update any place that life event date is displayed across Facebook:
– Your profile info section will display the updated date.
– Any old posts or photos that reference that life event will now show the new date.
– Friends may get notified of the date change and it may re-appear in their feed.
– Any aggregated birthday or event notifications will use the revised date.
– Profile screens showing relationship status, work history, etc. will reflect new dates.
– Timeline review memories and movies will use the updated date.
So the change affects both past and future occurrences of that date across Facebook. It’s a good idea to consider these downstream impacts before making date edits.
In some cases, you may want to edit past posts to match a new date, or confirm friends are aware of the change to avoid confusion. But Facebook’s systems will do most of the work to roll the change through automatically.
Troubleshooting Date Changes
In most cases, updating a Facebook life event date is straightforward. But here are some troubleshooting tips for a few situations that could occur:
Can’t select a past date: Due to privacy reasons, Facebook only allows backdating life events by 30 days maximum. If the date you want is further in the past, you’ll need to add a new life event for that historical date rather than editing the existing event.
Date save failed: If you get an error trying to change a date, close and reopen the editor, or try editing from a different path like your bio. Persistent issues may require logging out and back in to reset the date editor.
Date reverting to original: Sometimes date changes “stick” then revert back to the original for no clear reason. Try editing it again, or create a duplicate life event if it won’t retain edits.
Friends can’t see new date: It may take some time for the date change to propagate through Facebook’s systems. Give it a few hours then check if it updated everywhere as expected.
Can’t delete old life event: Unfortunately you can’t remove historical life events from your Facebook timeline as it acts as an archive. You can only edit dates or hide events from your profile.
So while small hiccups can occur, these tips should help you troubleshoot any issues with updating life event dates on Facebook.
Conclusion
Facebook life events provide a way to highlight and share major milestones and occasions on your profile and with friends. While these events auto-populate with dates, you can edit the dates associated with ones you manually added. This allows you to fix incorrect dates, account for changes in circumstance, or backdate events to when they occurred.
The process for editing Facebook life event dates is straightforward – just access your profile, open the date editor from the event’s menu, select a new date, and save the changes. Facebook will then update that date everywhere that event is mentioned. However there are some limits, like not being able to modify events added by others, or backdate too far into the past.
Overall, being able to update life event dates helps keep your Facebook profile accurate and current. It ensures friends see the right dates for occasions you want to celebrate, memories you want to look back on, and milestones you want to record for posterity. So next time a date needs tweaking, you can easily edit your Facebook life events.