How to Change the Date of a Facebook Post on Mobile

Ever published a Facebook post only to realize it's attached to the wrong date? Whether you’re organizing your business page’s timeline or just want to correct a simple mistake, changing a post's date might seem like it should be easy. This guide walks you through the exact steps to change the date of a Facebook post, even when you're on a mobile device, and explores the strategic reasons why you might want to master this skill.

Why Would You Change the Date of a Facebook Post?

Changing the publication date of a Facebook post might feel like an obscure feature, but it’s a powerful tool for social media managers and brands who want to curate their story with precision. It’s not about tricking the algorithm or your audience, it's about organization and intentional storytelling. There are several strategic reasons why you might need to backdate - or even future-date (within the past) - a post.

1. Filling Out a New Business Page Timeline

Imagine you just launched a Facebook page for a business that’s been around for five years. An empty timeline doesn’t reflect your company’s history or credibility. Backdating allows you to populate your timeline with key milestones from the past. You can create posts for your company’s founding date, product launches, key hires, or award wins, and then set the date to when those events actually happened. This creates a rich, complete brand history that new followers can look through, adding instant authority and depth to your page.

2. Correcting Honest Mistakes

This is the most common reason. Maybe you were preparing several posts in advance and accidentally hit "Publish" instead of "Schedule." Or perhaps you were posting a #ThrowbackThursday photo and forgot to actually change the date to reflect the moment. Simple human error happens. The ability to quickly edit the date means you don't have to delete the post, lose any initial engagement it received, and start over. You can just quietly move it to its correct place on your timeline.

3. Aligning Posts with Real-World Events

Let's say your company sponsored a charity marathon over the weekend. On Monday, you're back in the office and finally have time to put together a thoughtful recap post with the best photos. Publishing it on Monday is fine, but for organizational purposes, it makes more sense for that post to appear on your timeline on the actual date of the event. By backdating the recap to Saturday, you create a more logical and chronological narrative on your page. Anyone scrolling through your history will see the event recap on the day it occurred, making your brand's story easier to follow.

4. Grouping Similar Content Together

If you're running a campaign or have a series of posts on a single topic, you might want them to appear chronologically, even if they were published out of order. For example, if you posted "Part 3" of a series before "Part 2" was ready, you can simply adjust the dates and times to arrange them correctly on your timeline. This cleans up your brand's profile and improves the user experience for anyone looking at your content linearly.

The Annoying Truth About Changing Post Dates on Mobile

Here’s the frustrating catch that probably led you here in the first place: The native Facebook mobile app (for both iPhone and Android) does not offer a direct feature to change the date of a post. You can scroll through all the "Edit Post" options you want, but the ability to adjust a post's original publication timestamp simply isn’t there.

This is a classic example of a feature Facebook has reserved for its desktop experience. Why? The reasons are unclear, but it’s likely that editing a core detail like the date is considered an advanced or administrative capability, better suited for the more feature-rich desktop interface. For social media managers and business owners frequently working from their phones, this limitation is a major headache.

But don't give up. While you can't do it through the app, you can do it on your mobile device. You just need to know the right workaround.

Step-by-Step Guide: Using the Desktop Site on Your Phone

The secret is to trick your phone’s browser into loading the full desktop version of the Facebook website. This interface can be clunky and requires some careful tapping, but it gives you access to all the features you're missing in the app, including the all-important "Edit Date" function.

Follow these steps precisely:

Step 1: Open Your Mobile Web Browser

First, close the Facebook app. Using it will only get in your way. Instead, open your phone's internet browser. This can be Safari on an iPhone, Google Chrome on an Android, or any other browser you prefer. Type facebook.com into the address bar and log in to your account. It will likely load the mobile version (m.facebook.com), which looks a lot like the app. That's fine - we'll fix it in the next step.

Step 2: Request the Desktop Version of the Site

This is the most important step. You need to force the browser to load the full desktop-class website, not the mobile-optimized one.

• On an iPhone (using Safari): Look for the "aA" icon in the address bar at the top or bottom of your screen. Tap it, and a menu will appear. From that menu, select "Request Desktop Website."
• On an Android (using Google Chrome): Look for the three vertical dots icon in the top-right corner of the screen. Tap it to open the menu, then check the box next to "Desktop site."

The page will reload, and you'll see a tiny, zoomed-out version of the familiar desktop Facebook interface. You may want to turn your phone sideways (landscape mode) to make it easier to navigate.

Step 3: Navigate to the Post You Want to Edit

Now the tricky part begins. Using pinch-to-zoom, carefully make your way to your profile or business page. This might take some patience. Once you're on your timeline, scroll down until you find the specific post whose date you want to change.

Step 4: Open the Post's Options Menu

On the top-right corner of your post, you'll see the same three horizontal dots icon (...) that you see on the app. It will be very small, so you might need to zoom in to tap it accurately. Tap those three dots to open the post’s dropdown menu.

Step 5: Select "Edit Date"

Within that menu, you will see an option that isn't available in the mobile app: "Edit Date." Tap on it. A new window will pop up that allows you to change the details of the post's timing.

Step 6: Choose Your New Date and Time

The dialog box will give you dropdown menus to change every aspect of the timestamp:

• Year
• Month
• Day
• Hour
• Minute

You can backdate the post to any time since your timeline was created. Select the correct details for when you wanted the post to have been published. Accuracy matters here, so double-check your selection.

Step 7: Save Your Changes

Once you are confident with the new date and time, click the blue "Save" button. The page will refresh, and your post will vanish from its current spot. Don’t panic! It has simply been moved to its new location. Scroll through your timeline to the backdated year and month you selected, and you'll find it there, perfectly placed.

Important Things to Know Before You Change a Post's Date

While an extremely helpful organizational aid, editing a post's date has some consequences you should bear in mind before starting.

Engagement and Notifications Remain Unchanged

Changing the date of a post does not re-send notifications to your followers. The post retains all of its original likes, comments, and shares. It simply moves to a new position chronologically on your timeline. Your followers won't suddenly get a notification for a post you backdated to 2018.

It's Possible to Resurface Old Content

While new push notifications won't go out, sometimes Facebook's algorithm might briefly show your newly dated post in some of your followers' News Feeds. This happens because the "edit" is a recent activity, but it’s typically short-lived. For the most part, the post will settle into its new date on your timeline and won’t appear as a "new" post to your broader audience.

You Can Only Change Your Own Posts

This functionality is limited to content you created. You can change the dates on organic posts on your personal profile or your business page. However, you cannot change the post date of another profile's content that you've shared. The original date is tied to the original creator, not your share of the post.

Final Thoughts

While Facebook's mobile app doesn't make it obvious, changing a post's date from your phone is entirely possible with the desktop site workaround. Armed with this knowledge, you can now skillfully organize your page's timeline, correct mistakes, and build a more coherent brand narrative, even when you’re not near a computer.

Managing a social media content calendar shouldn't require clumsy workarounds or fighting with clunky interfaces. This is exactly why we built Postbase with a rock-solid scheduling system and a clear, visual calendar designed for modern content formats. We believe getting your posts live on the right day and time should be simple and reliable - something you set once and know it will work every single time, without ever having to pinch-and-zoom your way through a tiny desktop site on your phone.