Facebook featured photos display the date they were posted by default. When a user uploads a new featured photo, it will show the date it was uploaded below the photo. The date format depends on the user’s locale and date/time settings.
When are dates shown on Facebook featured photos?
Dates are displayed on Facebook featured photos in a few key places:
- Below the featured photo on a user’s profile, the date the photo was uploaded is shown.
- In the user’s photos tab, the date each photo was uploaded is displayed below the thumbnail.
- When viewing a photo in full size, the date it was uploaded is shown in the bottom left corner.
- In News Feed stories featuring a new featured photo, the date is shown below the photo.
- On timeline review screens and activity logs, featured photo changes show the date the new photo was uploaded.
So in summary, anytime a user’s featured photo is displayed, the date it was uploaded will be visible in close proximity.
How does Facebook determine the date to show?
The date shown on Facebook featured photos is determined by the following:
- When a user uploads a photo using Facebook’s interface, the date and time of the upload is recorded.
- When a photo is uploaded via the mobile app, the app records the device date/time.
- For photos uploaded via third-party apps or tools, the integration will send the date/time details which are then recorded.
- The server date/time is used as the official upload date when processing photos.
- Timezone adjustments are made so the date/time reflects the user’s local timezone.
So in essence, the date shown is when Facebook’s servers registered the photo upload taking into account the user’s local timezone.
What date format does Facebook use?
Facebook displays dates on featured photos based on the following date formats:
- English (US): MM/DD/YYYY (ex. 10/25/2022)
- English (UK): DD/MM/YYYY (ex. 25/10/2022)
- Spanish: DD/MM/YYYY (ex. 25/10/2022)
- French: DD/MM/YYYY (ex. 25/10/2022)
- German: DD.MM.YYYY (ex. 25.10.2022)
- Italian: DD/MM/YYYY (ex. 25/10/2022)
- Japanese: YYYY/MM/DD (ex. 2022/10/25)
- Korean: YYYY. MM. DD (ex. 2022. 10. 25)
- Chinese: YYYY/M/D (ex. 2022/10/25)
So the date format displayed matches the user’s chosen language and region format setting. Users can customize this in their Facebook settings if desired.
Can users customize the featured photo date format?
Yes, users have some ability to customize the date format used on featured photos:
- By changing their Facebook language, the date format will change accordingly.
- English speakers can choose between US (MM/DD/YYYY) and UK (DD/MM/YYYY) formats in settings.
- Date/time settings allow choosing 12 or 24 hour time formats.
- But custom date formats like DD-MM-YY are not possible at this time.
So in summary, users can choose regional date formats like US or UK English, but cannot create fully custom data formats for featured photos currently.
Can users choose to hide dates on featured photos?
Unfortunately there is no native setting to hide dates on featured photos across Facebook. However, there are couple partial solutions users can try:
- Cropping the photo can cut off the date text in some cases.
- Using photo editing tools to overlay shapes/icons over the date area.
- Adding a frame or border can cover the date on some device/viewing sizes.
- Using a 3rd party Chrome extension to try to hide date elements.
But there is no complete way to remove dates from all featured photo views. Dates are an integral part of Facebook’s photo metadata and presentation.
Why does Facebook show dates on featured photos?
Facebook displays the dates on featured photos for a few key reasons:
- Provides context on when the photo was taken/uploaded.
- Allows users to see new/old photos at a glance.
- Adds a temporal dimension to photo stories.
- Can surface photos from key dates like birthdays or events.
- Assists moderation and compliance efforts.
Overall, showing the date helps give each photo context, keeps the timeline visually organized, and acts as an index for browsing photos. The date is an integral piece of metadata for each post.
Are dates always accurate on featured photos?
In most cases, dates on Facebook featured photos accurately reflect when they were uploaded. However, there are some rare instances where the date may be incorrect or misleading:
- Timezone issues could offset the displayed time from the actual upload time.
- Photos edited after uploading will still show the original date.
- Platform bugs could conceivably show the wrong date in some situations.
- Bulk uploads via tools may not preserve correct dates.
- Date edits made by hacking the photo metadata locally could fake a date.
- Photos shared via email first could use the email date.
So there are edge cases where the shown date may differ from the true upload time for various technicalities. But for most general photo uploads, the date will accurately reflect when it was added.
Can you search for photos by date on Facebook?
Yes, Facebook does provide options to search for and browse photos by date, including:
- On the Photos page, click a year to see all photos from that year.
- Click a month to see photos from that month.
- Click a specific date to view photos from that date only.
- Use the search bar to find photos from a specific date or daterange.
- Try searches like “photos from June 2020” or “photos before 2015”.
So the dates shown on featured photos enable powerful chronological searching, browsing, and organizing of photo archives on Facebook.
Do other Facebook post types show dates?
Yes, many other Facebook post types display visible dates like featured photos:
- Regular photo posts show the date posted below the photo.
- Shared link posts include the date posted below the link title.
- Shared video posts display the date below the video thumbnail.
- Text status updates show the date posted above the text.
- Life event posts feature the date of the event prominently.
- Profile changes display the date in page history logs.
So most Facebook post types display the date posted or date of the event/item to provide valuable context about when it occurred or was shared.
Conclusion
In summary, Facebook featured photos always display the date they were uploaded to Facebook, using date formats based on the user’s chosen language and region. Dates provide context, organization, chronology, and searchability for photos. While users cannot completely hide dates, they have some options to obscure them. Dates remain a core piece of metadata attached to photos on Facebook.