Page Timestamp Finder

Published in Chrome Web Store: 4/7/2025.

v1.2.0 Released: 3/17/2026.

Tired of hunting around for when a webpage was published or last updated? This Chrome extension has you covered!

The Goal: To surface the most reliable published and last modified timestamps of any webpage, even if they're not explicitly displayed. We dig deep so you don't have to!

Features

• Finds Both Published and Modified Dates: The extension doesn't just look for when a page was last changed; it also finds the original publication date, giving you a complete picture of the content's timeline.
• Intelligent Scanning: It intelligently scans the webpage, checking meta tags, structured data (JSON-LD), visible content patterns, Unix timestamps, and even HTTP headers to find the most accurate dates.
• Customizable Date/Time Format: You can choose your preferred date and time format (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD vs. MM/DD/YYYY, 24-hour vs. 12-hour clock) from the options page.
• Simple Interface: Just click the extension icon to get the timestamps. A clear overlay provides the information without being intrusive.
• Secure by Design: Built with strict DOM sanitization rules to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) and ensuring that timestamps are fetched and displayed safely.

How It Works

We intelligently scan the webpage for both published and modified timestamps, checking various locations where a date might be hiding. Our approach follows a logical sequence, prioritizing the most reliable sources first:

1. Schema.org Structured Data: First, we analyze any Schema.org structured data (in JSON-LD or microdata format) embedded in the page. This often contains the most accurate datePublished and dateModified properties directly from the author. Content is securely sanitized to handle malformed control characters.
2. Meta Tags: Next, we look for direct indicators in the page's meta tags. This includes standard tags like <meta name="last-modified" ...> as well as Open Graph (OG) tags like og:updated_time (for modified) and og:published_time (for published).
3. HTML Content Patterns: If the above checks don't yield a result, we start looking at the visible content of the page. We search for HTML5 <time> elements and common phrases or CSS classes (like .post-date or .updated) that often indicate dates.
4. URL Patterns: If a publication date still hasn't been found, we scan the website's address (URL) for common date patterns (like /2023/10/15/) often used by blogs and news sites.
5. Unix Timestamp Parsing: Supports scanning structured elements and page content for both 10-digit (seconds) and 13-digit (milliseconds) Unix timestamps.
6. HTTP Last-Modified Header: As a final fallback for the modified date, we examine the Last-Modified header sent by the web server. While this can sometimes be less precise, it can still provide a useful indication.

(Note: We deliberately ignore some generic server headers and the system's "current time" to prevent the extension from incorrectly telling you an old article was just published "right now". We also reject dates that appear to be in the future.)

Configuration

You can customize the date and time format to match your preference.

1. Right-click on the extension icon in your Chrome toolbar.
2. Select "Options".
3. Choose your desired format for the date (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD, DD/MM/YYYY) and time (24-hour or 12-hour).
4. Click "Save".

To Use

Simply install the extension. When you're on a webpage and want to know the timestamps, just click the extension icon. You'll need to click the icon each time you want to check a page.

Let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions!