🌐 How to Change Time Zone in Google Chrome to Test Different Timezones

#webdev #testing #debug #timezone

Have you ever wondered how your website or app behaves in different time zones? Maybe you’ve got users all around the globe, and you need to ensure everything works perfectly no matter where they are. Or you deployed your application and the time does not show as it is supposed to, even though it works locally. Then you update your code and don't know how you can simulate the server behavior? Well, good news! You don’t need to jet-set across time zones to test it out. With Google Chrome's Developer Tools, you can change the browser's time zone and test your site or app like a globe-trotting genius.

This is a short and brief tutorial that I wrote after having the exact same issue with my teammate. Let's dive into the world of time-travel testing! 🕰️✨

Why Testing Different Time Zones is Important

Imagine this: Your app is a big hit in your home country. Great! But what happens when it gains international users? Users in different time zones might face issues that you’ve never encountered before. Date and time bugs can cause significant problems, like missed appointments, incorrect timestamps, and erroneous calculations. Also, running your app on a server that’s in a different time zone than your users can lead to similar unexpected results. Testing in different time zones helps you catch these bugs before your users do!

Using Google Chrome Developer Tools to Change Timezone

Here's a simple step-by-step guide to change the time zone in Google Chrome for testing purposes:

Step 1: Open Developer Tools in Chrome

First things first, open Chrome and hit F12 or right-click anywhere on the page and select "Inspect". This will open the Developer Tools panel.

Step 2: Open the Console Drawer and Sensors

Now that you have the Developer Tools open, look for the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the panel. Click on them and select “More tools” -> “Sensors”.

Step 3: Set Your Location and Timezone

In the Sensors tab, you will see a section labeled "Location". Here you can set your location by choosing a predefined city or entering custom coordinates. More importantly, you can change the time zone to whatever you need for testing.