Instagram Post Date Finder

Instructions

1. Copy the post URL. Use the Share → Copy link option on the post, or copy it from your browser's address bar.
2. Paste the URL above into the Instagram Post URL field.
3. Click "Run" to get the post's creation date and time.

Example URL: https://www.instagram.com/mlb/reel/DCF76aqtL2Y/

How to see what time an Instagram post was posted

Instagram shows you a relative age on most posts — "2 days ago", or just a date on older ones. The exact time is never displayed, but it is recorded — inside the post's own ID. Every post's shortcode (the DCF76aqtL2Y part of the URL) encodes the moment it was created, and this tool decodes it to the precise second the post went up.

That's the difference between "sometime last Tuesday" and a timestamp you can put in a report.

How does it work?

The shortcode in a post URL is the post's numeric media ID written in a URL-safe base64 alphabet. Instagram builds those IDs so the high bits are the creation time in milliseconds, counted from Instagram's own epoch in August 2011. This tool converts the shortcode back to the ID, pulls out those bits, and formats the result as a Unix timestamp and a readable UTC date.

Because the date comes from the URL itself, the tool never has to load the post. It works the same for public posts, private accounts, and posts that have since been deleted — all it needs is the link.

Instagram post date and time finder: what you get

Results come back as a JSON block above with two fields:

Both are in UTC. Keep the raw createdUtc if you're feeding results into a spreadsheet or a script, or converting to a specific local timezone.

What you can use it for

Knowing the exact publication time of a post is useful well beyond curiosity:

• Content verification — confirm when something was actually posted before treating it as current.
• Research and investigations — build accurate timelines from posts rather than approximate ages.
• Competitive and creator analysis — see the real posting times behind an account's content.
• Accurate citations — reference a post with a precise date and time stamp.
• Digital archiving — keep exact records of content as it appeared.

We don't store or share the URLs you enter; they're used solely to retrieve the creation date for you.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work as an Instagram Reels upload time checker?

Yes. Reels, feed posts, and carousels all publish the same public page data, so a /reel/ URL works exactly like a /p/ URL. Paste whichever link you have.

Can I check the upload time on someone else's post?

Yes. The date is decoded from the post's link, so you don't need to follow the account or be logged in, and the account owner isn't notified. That works for private accounts too, if you have the link.

Why can't it find the date for a post?

The URL has to contain the post's shortcode — the code after /p/, /reel/ or /tv/. A profile link won't work. Share links (instagram.com/share/...) are followed to the real post URL first; if that fails, open the link in your browser and paste the address it lands on.

What timezone is the result in?

UTC. The formatted dateUTC field carries a GMT suffix, which is the same instant. Use the raw createdUtc value if you need to convert it to the poster's local time or your own — note that Instagram doesn't publish which timezone a post was uploaded from, so that conversion is yours to make.

Is this the time it was posted or the time it was created?

It's the timestamp Instagram records when the post is published, so for ordinary posts it's the moment it went live.