Tiktok is the latest trendy app. It is a platform for short-form, video-sharing. All the “it” girls and boys are on Tiktok. There are roughly 1 million monthly active users on the app. But since 2021, its update has left many frustrated. The time on the app has changed to military time.
When this happened, the app was flooded with questions like “Why is my Tiktok in military time?” and “How to change the time on Tiktok from military time?” If you search up “Tiktok military time” now, you may still see all the headlines delivering news on the need to change military time on Tiktok / change the time on Tiktok messages.
Tiktok has not responded to the queries publicly. But it is assumed that military time is used because it is similar to the 24-hour notation, which is common in China. And China is where the app was founded. To learn a bit more on this topic, continue to read!
Table of Contents
All About Tik Tok Time
The time direct messages on Tik Tok are sent and read are indicated by the 24-hour notation time. Hence, there are four digits. It starts at 00:00 (from midnight, when the day begins) to 23:59 (the last minute of the day). This is sometimes called military time.
The similarity is that both time systems run for 24 hours; meaning, the day is divided into 24 hours. Plus, the 24-hour notation time and military time do not use A.M (Ante Meridiem) or P.M. (Post Meridiem).
But there is a difference between the 24-hour notation time and military time, which is:
- Military time does not have a colon (:) separating the hours and the minutes
Change The Time on Tiktok from Military Time
Unfortunately, there is no way to change the military time on Tiktok yet.
But the good news is that it is not too hard to learn how to read 24-hour notation time and military time.
To start, familiarize yourself with the 24-hour clock. Here is a picture that you can use as a reference:
When you look at the 24 clock to tell the time, it goes from midnight to midnight; the number indicates the hours passed from midnight.
Convert 24-Hour Time to 12-Hour Time
For hours before noon:
- Add 12 to the hours.
- Add the “A.M” signifier for hours from 1:00 to 11:59.
- Get rid of any leading zeros. For example, 05:25 in 24-hour time notation is 5:25 A.M.
So, for example, 05:25 in 24-hour time is 5:25 AM in 12-hour time.
Therefore, the conversion chart is as follows:
- 01:00 is 1:00 A.M
- 02:00 is 2:00 A.M
- 03:00 is 3:00 A.M
- 04:00 is 4:00 A.M
- 05:00 is 5:00 A.M
- 06:00 is 6:00 A.M
- 07:00 is 7:00 A.M
- 08:00 is 8:00 A.M
- 09:00 is 9:00 A.M
- 10:00 is 10:00 A.M
- 11:00 is 11:00 A.M
For hours after noon:
- Take 12 away from 13:00 to 23:59.
- Add the “P.M” signifier for hours from 12:00 to 12:59.
This means:
- 13:00 is 1:00 P.M
- 14:00 is 2:00 P.M
- 15:00 is 3:00 P.M
- 16:00 is 4:00 P.M
- 17:00 is 5:00 P.M
- 18:00 is 6:00 P.M
- 19:00 is 7:00 P.M
- 20:00 is 8:00 P.M
- 21:00 is 9:00 P.M
- 22:00 is 10:00 P.M
- 23:00 is 11:00 P.M
Convert 12-Hour Time to 12-Hour Time
In general:
- Get rid of “A.M” for the hours between 1:00 and 11:59.
- Add a leading zero if the hour is a single digit.
For instance, 7:00 A.M is 07:00 and 11:15 A.M is 11:15.
Hence:
- 1:00 A.M is 01:00
- 2:00 A.M is 02:00
- 3:00 A.M is 03:00
- 4:00 A.M is 04:00
- 5:00 A.M is 05:00
- 6:00 A.M is 06:00
- 7:00 A.M is 07:00
- 8:00 A.M is 08:00
- 9:00 A.M is 09:00
- 10:00 A.M is 10:00
- 11:00 A.M is 11:00
Get rid of “P.M” for the noon hours (but leave the digits as they are).
For example, 12:25 P.M would just be 12:25.
For the hours of the afternoon, evening, and night:
- Add 12 to the hours from 1:00 to 11:59.
- Get rid of the “P.M”.
So, the conversion chart for hours between 1:00 and 11:59 P.M is as follows:
- 1:00 P.M is 13:00
- 1:00 P.M is 13:00
- 2:00 P.M is 14:00
- 3:00 P.M is 15:00
- 4:00 P.M is 16:00
- 5:00 P.M is 17:00
- 6:00 P.M is 18:00
- 7:00 P.M is 19:00
- 8:00 P.M is 20:00
- 9:00 P.M is 21:00
- 10:00 P.M is 22:00
- 11:00 P.M is 23:00
What Time Zone Does Tiktok Use?
Tik Tok analytics information is recorded in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). This means that you will have to convert the hours that your followers are active to find the timezones of your audience location if you want to post at the “peak” or optimal time.
On another note, if you are using Tik Tok Ads Manager, you can choose your time zone when you sign up and create an account. Currently, it supports all time zones with full or half-hour deviations in relation to UTC (Coordinated Universal time) or GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).
You can view the time zone that you have chosen by following these steps:
- Step 1: Locate your Tiktok Ads Manager dashboard.
- Step 2: Press on your account name. It should be in the top-right corner.
- Step 3: Access the drop-down menu and find the blue function atop the drop-down menu.
- Step 4: Click on the “Ad Account Settings” button. It should be to the right of your account information.
- Step 5: Scroll through your “Basic Information” to find your “Time Zone.”
Notes
- Unfortunately, you will not be able to change your timezone after choosing it when creating your account.
- There is no option for daylight savings time and timezones that use quarter-hour deviations as of now.
The time zone that you choose is matters in the following criteria:
- Data information time (on the platform and in reports)
- Start and end times for ad delivery
- Bill cycle invoicing dates for total ad costs
Conclusion
Congrats! You now know the answer to “Why is my Tiktok in military time?” Even though there is no way to convert it to civilian time (yet), we have walked you through how to convert and read the time on Tiktok. Hopefully, this helps you navigate the app better. If you have anything else to add about this topic, leave us a comment. Also, please help us share this article with other readers!
I am Everett Bledsoe, taking on the responsibility of content producer for The Soldiers Project. My purpose in this project is to give honest reviews on the gear utilized and tested over time. Of course, you cannot go wrong when checking out our package of information and guide, too, as they come from reliable sources and years of experience.