Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you might want to know about how gworldtime works — accuracy, time zones, features, and privacy.
How accurate is the clock?
gworldtime synchronizes against network time (NTP) instead of trusting your device's system clock alone, so the displayed times are typically accurate to within a fraction of a second. Even if your computer's clock is several minutes off, gworldtime will still show the correct time. The synchronization runs when the page loads and periodically afterwards to compensate for drift.
Does gworldtime handle daylight saving time (DST) automatically?
Yes. Every city is mapped to its official IANA time zone identifier (for example America/New_York or Europe/London), and local time is computed from those rules using your browser's built-in time zone database. When a region springs forward or falls back, the displayed time changes automatically at exactly the right moment — no manual updates needed. To understand DST better, read our guide: Daylight Saving Time explained.
How many cities are supported?
337 cities across every continent and every UTC offset — including the unusual half-hour and 45-minute zones such as India (UTC+5:30), Iran (UTC+3:30), and Nepal (UTC+5:45). Use the search box to find any city instantly, in any of the 8 supported interface languages.
Is gworldtime free? Do I need an account?
gworldtime is completely free and requires no account, sign-up, or installation. Just open the page. The site is supported by advertising, which is what keeps it free for everyone.
What do the light and dark areas on the globe mean?
The boundary between the lit and dark halves of the globe is the solar terminator — the real-time line between day and night on Earth. It's computed from the sun's actual astronomical position, so it moves continuously and shifts with the seasons. Cities on the bright side are currently in daylight; cities on the dark side are in night. It's the fastest way to sense whether "now" is a reasonable time to call someone abroad.
Can I pin multiple cities and compare their times?
Yes — you can pin up to 5 cities. Their cards appear side by side with live clocks, dates, and time-difference badges showing how many hours each city is ahead of or behind your first (base) city. Your pinned cities are remembered between visits (stored locally in your browser). You can also set default cities in Settings.
Which languages are supported?
Eight: English, Korean (한국어), Japanese (日本語), Chinese (中文), Spanish, French, German, and Russian. The interface language is auto-detected from your browser settings and can be changed manually with the language buttons. City and country names are localized too.
Does it work on mobile?
Yes. The globe, search, and city cards adapt to phone and tablet screens, with touch controls for rotating and zooming the globe. Any modern mobile browser with WebGL support (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Samsung Internet, etc.) works.
Why is my city's time slightly different from my phone's clock?
gworldtime uses network-synchronized time. If your phone or computer clock has drifted, the two can differ by a few seconds — in that case gworldtime is usually the more accurate one. Devices that sync automatically with their carrier or OS time service will normally match exactly.
What's the difference between UTC and GMT?
In everyday use they refer to the same time, but technically UTC is the modern atomic-clock standard while GMT is the older astronomical one. We wrote a full explainer: What is UTC? What is GMT?
What data does gworldtime store about me?
Very little. Your preferences (theme, colors, language, pinned cities) are stored locally in your own browser and never sent to a server. Analytics and advertising cookies are used only if you accept them in the consent banner. There are no accounts and no personal profiles. Full details are in our Privacy Policy.
Can I request a new city or report wrong data?
Absolutely — email support@pitagolas.com or use the contact page. City requests and corrections to time zone data are the most useful feedback we get.
Does gworldtime work offline?
An internet connection is needed to load the page and synchronize the clock. Once loaded, the clock keeps ticking locally even if the connection drops, but for guaranteed accuracy we recommend staying online.