Timezone settings control how your analytics data is grouped and displayed over time. Choosing the right timezone ensures that "today" means the same thing in your analytics as it does for you and your audience.

Where Timezone Settings Appear

The timezone selector is available on the Global Dashboard (/global-dashboard). It appears as a dropdown near the top of the page alongside the time range and export options.

For individual link analytics pages, data is displayed using your browser's local timezone by default.

Available Timezone Options

The Global Dashboard offers the following timezone choices:

Option	Timezone	UTC Offset
Local Time	Your browser's detected timezone	Varies
UTC	Coordinated Universal Time	UTC+0
ET	US Eastern Time	UTC-5 / UTC-4 (DST)
CT	US Central Time	UTC-6 / UTC-5 (DST)
MT	US Mountain Time	UTC-7 / UTC-6 (DST)
PT	US Pacific Time	UTC-8 / UTC-7 (DST)
London	Greenwich Mean Time / British Summer Time	UTC+0 / UTC+1 (DST)
CET	Central European Time	UTC+1 / UTC+2 (DST)
Tokyo	Japan Standard Time	UTC+9
China	China Standard Time	UTC+8
Sydney	Australian Eastern Time	UTC+10 / UTC+11 (DST)

Note: Timezones that observe Daylight Saving Time (DST) will automatically adjust. The UTC offset shown above reflects both standard and DST offsets where applicable.

How Timezone Affects Your Data

Daily Boundaries

The timezone you select determines where one "day" ends and the next begins. For example:

In UTC, a new day starts at midnight UTC (which is 7pm ET, 4pm PT the previous evening)
In PT, a new day starts at midnight Pacific Time (which is 8am UTC the next morning)

This means the same set of clicks can be grouped differently depending on your timezone. A click that happened at 11pm UTC on January 5th would count as:

January 5th in UTC
January 5th in London
January 5th in ET (it's 6pm ET)
January 5th in PT (it's 3pm PT)

But a click at 2am UTC on January 6th would count as:

January 6th in UTC and London
January 5th in ET (it's 9pm ET on the 5th)
January 5th in PT (it's 6pm PT on the 5th)

Chart Data Points

When viewing daily data points on the performance chart, the timezone determines which 24-hour window each bar or point represents. Changing the timezone can shift data between adjacent days.

Stats Calculations

Metrics like Average Daily Views, Peak Views, and Growth are all calculated based on how data is grouped into days. Different timezones may produce slightly different values for these metrics because the daily groupings change.

Choosing the Right Timezone

Use "Local Time" When...

You're the only person viewing the analytics
You want the data to match your personal sense of "today" and "yesterday"
You're not sharing reports with people in other timezones

This is the default setting and works well for most individual users.

Use Your Audience's Timezone When...

Most of your traffic comes from a specific region
You want to see when your audience's "peak hours" actually fall in their local time
You're analyzing daily patterns and want them to align with your audience's day

For example, if you're based in London but your audience is primarily in the US, switching to ET or PT shows you when Americans are clicking, which is more relevant for optimizing your posting schedule.

Use UTC When...

You're comparing data across multiple timezones and want a neutral reference point
You're working with a team spread across many timezones
You need to match data with server logs or other systems that use UTC
You want consistency regardless of DST changes

UTC never changes for Daylight Saving Time, making it the most stable option for long-term data analysis.

Use a Client's Timezone When...

You're preparing reports for a client and want the data to match their perspective
The client expects "Last Month" to align with their local calendar month

Set the timezone to the client's location before exporting the report.

Common Questions

Does changing the timezone change my actual data?

No. Your raw analytics data is always stored the same way. Changing the timezone only affects how that data is grouped and displayed. The same clicks are there regardless of timezone — they're just assigned to different hours or days on the chart.

Why do my numbers look slightly different when I change timezones?

Because daily boundaries shift. Some clicks may move from one day to the adjacent day, which changes daily totals, averages, and growth calculations. The total across the entire range should remain the same.

Does the timezone affect exports?

Yes. When you export as CSV or PDF, the data reflects the currently selected timezone. If you export in UTC and then export again in PT, the daily breakdowns will differ because the day boundaries are different.

What about Daylight Saving Time?

Timezones that observe DST automatically adjust. During the transition periods, one day per year will be 23 hours long (spring forward) and one day will be 25 hours long (fall back). This is handled automatically in the data grouping.

Can I set a default timezone?

The default is always Local Time (your browser's timezone). If you need a different default, you'll need to select it each time you visit the Global Dashboard. Your selection is not saved between sessions.

Tips

Be consistent when comparing periods. If you compared last month's data in UTC, compare this month's data in UTC too. Switching timezones between comparisons can introduce confusing discrepancies.
Use the same timezone as your ad platforms. If you're running Google Ads in a specific timezone, set your Bouncy analytics to the same timezone so you can directly correlate ad spend timing with click timing.
Check timezone before exporting. It's easy to forget to set the timezone before hitting the export button. Always verify the timezone setting matches your needs before generating a report.
Local Time follows your device. If you travel and your device automatically adjusts timezone, "Local Time" will change too. If you need stability while traveling, switch to a named timezone.