Our aim
Every page on ExactLocalTime should help someone get a time right: the time somewhere now, the time on a future date, or the date when a clock changes. We publish pages only for places where we can give accurate, specific information, and we would rather cover fewer places well than many places thinly.
Time zone data
All rules come from the IANA time zone database, the open, public-domain database maintained by volunteers and used by every major operating system. We currently use release 2026c. Every clock, conversion, offset and clock change date on the site is produced from it, and the dates in our guides are checked against it. Where a country's official source is easy to cite, such as the UK government's clock-change page, we check against that too and link to it.
Rule changes
When the database publishes a new release, we review the changes, update the built-in rules and rebuild the affected pages. Where a change is significant, as with British Columbia, Alberta and Morocco in 2026, we mention it on the relevant pages and say when it took effect. When a change has been announced but is not yet official, we say so rather than presenting it as settled.
Testing
Before each update, an automated test suite checks our clocks, converter and meeting planner against the database:
- local times and offsets for every city, at hundreds of moments in 2025–2028, including the minutes either side of each clock change;
- conversions for skipped hours (when clocks go forward) and repeated hours (when clocks go back);
- that the meeting planner never suggests a slot on any participant's local weekend or overnight;
- that pages render correctly and their clocks update in a real browser.
Guides: sources and fact-checking
Guides are written in plain UK English and link to their main sources, such as the IANA database, GOV.UK, NIST, the BIPM and the IERS. Historical and legal facts are checked against those sources. Where something is uncertain or disputed, such as research on the health effects of clock changes, we say so. We do not publish invented statistics, reviews or testimonials.
Use of AI writing tools
We may use AI writing tools to help draft and edit explanatory text. A person reviews and edits every draft before publication and checks the facts and dates against the sources above. The AI Barn is responsible for everything published on ExactLocalTime, however it was drafted.
Independence and advertising
ExactLocalTime is funded by advertising shown through Google AdSense. Advertisers do not influence our content, and we do not accept payment for recommendations.
Corrections
If you find a mistake, email hello@theaibarn.com with the page address and what looks wrong. If a tool is wrong, we fix it and add a test for the case you reported. If a page is wrong in a way that changes its meaning, we correct it and note the change at the end of the page.