Still stuck? Head back to the localdatetime.now home page to use the tools, or read our in-depth guides and articles.
localdatetime.now — Frequently Asked Questions
Everything about formats, quality, privacy and how Local Date & Time works.
General
Frequently asked questions
Is localdatetime.now free?
Yes — free, no signup, no download, no rate limit.
What is the current Unix timestamp?
The epoch converter shows it live in both seconds and milliseconds, and every value on the site is copyable.
Is my data sent to a server?
No. Every value is derived from your own device's clock and time zone setting, entirely in the browser.
What is the difference between UTC offset and time zone?
An offset is a fixed number of hours from UTC at a moment in time. A time zone is a place with rules that change its offset across the year.
Which date format should I use in code?
ISO 8601, stored in UTC, with the IANA zone identifier recorded separately when the location matters.
Local Date & Time
Frequently asked questions
What is my current timestamp?
The epoch seconds and milliseconds values above update live and can be copied with one click. Both count from 1 January 1970 UTC.
What is my time zone?
The IANA time zone row shows the identifier your browser reports, such as Europe/London or America/New_York, along with your current UTC offset.
Is any of this sent anywhere?
No. Every value is computed in your browser from your device's clock. Nothing is transmitted or stored.
Why does ISO 8601 appear twice?
Once in your local time with its offset, and once in UTC ending in Z. They describe the same instant in two equally valid ways.
Epoch Converter
Frequently asked questions
Does the epoch include leap seconds?
No. Unix time deliberately ignores them, treating every day as exactly 86,400 seconds, which is why it does not perfectly track atomic time.
Can a timestamp be negative?
Yes. Negative values represent instants before 1970, and most modern date libraries handle them correctly.
ISO 8601 Formatter
Frequently asked questions
What is the correct ISO 8601 format?
The extended form YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS followed by either Z for UTC or a ±hh:mm offset. The T separates date from time.
Is RFC 3339 the same as ISO 8601?
RFC 3339 is a stricter profile of ISO 8601 used on the internet. Anything valid in RFC 3339 is valid ISO 8601, but not the reverse.
Should I store the Z form or the offset form?
Store the UTC Z form for a recorded instant. Keep the zone identifier separately if you also need to know where it happened.
UTC Offset Check
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my UTC offset?
It is displayed above, read from your device's own time zone setting, along with whether daylight saving is currently applied.
Does a VPN change my time zone?
No. Your time zone comes from your operating system's settings, not from your IP address, so a VPN leaves the clock untouched.
Why does my offset change during the year?
Because your region observes daylight saving. The page shows both your standard offset and your current one so the difference is visible.