How to Remove Date and Time From WordPress Comments

Do you worry that old timestamps on comments make your content look outdated?

Even if you recently updated a post, a comment from five years ago might convince a visitor that the information is no longer relevant. This often stops new readers from joining the conversation.

At WPBeginner, we display comment dates to provide context for our tutorials. However, removing them is a popular strategy for sites that want to maintain a strictly evergreen appearance.

In this article, we will show you how to easily remove the date and time from WordPress comments.

Why Remove the Date and Time From WordPress Comments?

When readers see older comments with dates from months or years ago, they might assume the article is outdated, even if the information is still relevant.

Some users believe that hiding the date and time for their comments will prevent their articles from looking dated, improving their search engine rankings.

By hiding the date, the focus stays on the content and the discussion rather than the age of the comments, which helps you maintain a fresh and active appearance.

Removing dates and times can also help your site if it has low comment activity. If visitors notice that the most recent comment was published a long time ago, they might hesitate to engage, assuming that your site is not active.

By removing these timestamps, you eliminate any potential hesitation and create a more welcoming environment for discussion.

However, keep in mind that removing dates from comments can also have some potential drawbacks, as it can create confusion for users.

Some readers prefer to know when a comment was made to better understand the context of the discussion, especially for content that changes over time, such as tutorials, reviews, or guides.

Without timestamps, readers may have difficulty understanding whether a comment is still relevant to their situation.

That said, let’s look at how to easily remove the date and time from WordPress comments.

How to Remove the Date and Time From WordPress Comments

You can easily remove the date and time from WordPress comments by adding custom code to your theme’s functions.php file.

However, keep in mind that even a small error in the code can break your website.

That is why we recommend using WPCode. It is the best WordPress code snippets plugin on the market and the safest way to add custom code to your site.

During our evaluation, we found it to be the easiest and safest way to add custom code. To learn more, see our WPCode review.

First, you need to install and activate the WPCode plugin. For detailed instructions, you may want to see our beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, visit the Code Snippets » + Add Snippet page from the WordPress admin sidebar.

From here, hover your mouse over the ‘Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet)’ option and click the ‘Use Snippet’ button.

On the next screen, you can type a name for your code snippet. This can be anything that helps you identify the code, like ‘Remove Comment Date’.

Next, choose the ‘PHP Snippet’ option from the code type dropdown menu in the right corner of the screen.

After that, simply copy and paste the following code into the ‘Code Preview’ box:

// Remove comment date
function wpb_remove_comment_date($date, $d, $comment) { 
    if ( !is_admin() ) {
        return;
    } else { 
        return $date;
    }
}
add_filter( 'get_comment_date', 'wpb_remove_comment_date', 10, 3);
 
// Remove comment time
function wpb_remove_comment_time($date, $d, $comment) { 
    if ( !is_admin() ) {
            return;
    } else { 
            return $date;
    }
}
add_filter( 'get_comment_time', 'wpb_remove_comment_time', 10, 3);

After that, scroll down to the ‘Insertion’ section and choose the ‘Auto Insert’ mode.

This will automatically execute the code on your site.

Next, scroll back to the top of the page and toggle the switch to ‘Active’.

Finally, click the ‘Save Snippet’ button to store your settings.

Now, you can visit your website to see the date and time removed from your WordPress comments.

Please note that this method does not remove comment dates and times from your WordPress database.

Removing the code will immediately start displaying the date and time for WordPress comments on your site.

Bonus: Remove Author Name From WordPress Posts

You can remove the date and time from comments and the author’s name from posts on your WordPress blog.

Displaying the author’s name helps build trust and transparency with your readers. However, removing the date and time can prevent your comments from looking outdated.

However, if you run a multi-author blog or manage guest bloggers, then removing the author’s name can make your site look more consistent.

You can easily do this by adding a CSS code snippet to your website with WPCode.

For more details, see our tutorial on how to remove author names from WordPress posts.

Frequently Asked Questions About WordPress Comment Dates

Here are some of the most common questions our readers ask about removing date and time stamps from the comment section.

1. Does this code delete the dates from my WordPress database?

No, this code snippet does not delete any data from your WordPress database. It simply stops your WordPress theme from displaying the date and time on the front end of your website. If you remove the code snippet, the original dates and times will immediately reappear.

2. Can I use CSS to hide the comment date and time?

Yes, you can use CSS (specifically display: none;) to visually hide the date elements. However, we recommend the PHP method used in this guide because it prevents the date data from being processed and displayed by your theme.

3. Will removing comment dates hurt my SEO?

Removing comment dates generally does not hurt SEO. In fact, for evergreen content, it can improve user engagement by making the discussion feel active and relevant regardless of when the comments were posted. However, Google may still see the date in your site’s metadata.

4. Can I change the date format instead of removing it?

Yes. If you only want to remove the specific time or change how the date looks (for example, showing ‘July 2024’ instead of the full date), you can do this in your WordPress dashboard settings. For details, see our guide on how to change date and time format in WordPress.

Additional Resources

We hope this article helped you learn how to easily remove date and time from WordPress comments. You may also want to see some additional resources:

• How to Add a Dynamic Copyright Date in WordPress Footer
• Best WordPress Database Plugins – Expert Pick
• How to Change Date and Time Format in WordPress
• Beginner’s Guide on How to Moderate Comments in WordPress

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