Is it possible they're reusing responses which are close enough by some factor? Maybe this is why exposing a timestamp won't be beneficial for them.
ChatGPT conversations still lack timestamps after years of requests
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Re: ChatGPT conversations still lack timestamps after years of requests
#42Other than the potential liability, cost may also be a factor. Back in April 2025, Altman mentioned people saying "thank you" was adding “tens of millions of dollars” to their infra costs. Wondering if adding per-message timestamps would cost even more.
I think "thank you" are used for inference in follow-up messages, but not necessarily timestamps.
I just asked ChatGPT this:
> Suppose ChatGPT does not currently store the timestamp of each message in conversations internally at all. Based on public numbers/estimates, calculate how much money it will cost OpenAI per year to display the timestamp information in every message, considering storage/bandwidth etc
The answer it gave was $40K-$50K. I am too dumb and inexperienced to go through everything and verify if it makes sense, but anyone who knows better is welcome to fact check this.
Re: ChatGPT conversations still lack timestamps after years of requests
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was using a continuous conversation with chatgpt to keep track of my lifts, and then I realize it never understand what day I'm talking to it, like there is no consistency, it might as well be the date of the first message you sent
What purpose does logging your lifting with chatgpt achieve?
It’s an incredible tool for weightlifting. I use it all the time to analyze my workout logs that I copy/paste from Apple Notes.
Example prompts:
- “Modify my Push #2 routine to avoid aggravating my rotator cuff”
- “Summarize my progression over the past 2 months. What lifts are progressing and which are lagging? Suggest how to optimize training”
- “Are my legs hamstring or glute dominant? How should I adjust training”
- “Critique my training program and suggest optimizations”
That said, I would never log directly in ChatGPT since chats still feel ephemeral. Always log outside of ChatGPT and copy/paste the logs when needed for context.
Re: ChatGPT conversations still lack timestamps after years of requests
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was using a continuous conversation with chatgpt to keep track of my lifts, and then I realize it never understand what day I'm talking to it, like there is no consistency, it might as well be the date of the first message you sent
What purpose does logging your lifting with chatgpt achieve?
presumably the same thing that logging anything with an LLM achieves : plain language into structured text quickly.
Re: ChatGPT conversations still lack timestamps after years of requests
#45Surprised that people still use chatgpt
having been a customer of Anthropic and Google at varying times, it's not surprising to me in the least.
As the companies sprint towards AGI as the goal the floor for acceptable customer service has never been lower. These two concepts are not unrelated.
Re: ChatGPT conversations still lack timestamps after years of requests
#46You only need that info if you know you need it in your rag. Over the last two years of usage I don't recall where I'd need those timestamps but I know there are cases. Still, this would have to be an option because otherwise it would be waste of tokens. However, we have to consider they are competing for the quality AND length of the response even if a shorter response is better. There's a pretzel of considerations…
Imagine you started having back pain months ago and you remember asking ChatGPT questions when it first started.
Now you’re going to the doctor and you forgot exactly when the pain started. You remember that you asked ChatGPT about the pain the day it started.
So you look for the chat, and discover there are no dates. It feels like such an obvious thing that’s missing.
Let’s not over complicate things. There aren’t that many considerations. It’s just a date. It doesn’t need to be stuffed into the context of the chat. Not sure why quality or length of chat would need to be affected?
Re: ChatGPT conversations still lack timestamps after years of requests
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Someone has already made a browser extension for Chrome to show the timestamps. https://github.com/Hangzhi/chatgpt-timestamp-extension https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/kdjfhglijhebcchcfkk...
For Chrome and Firefox.
Because he didn't say Firefox so he deserves downvotes?
Re: ChatGPT conversations still lack timestamps after years of requests
#48ChatGPT still does not display per-message timestamps (time of day / date) in conversations. This has been requested consistently since early 2023 on the OpenAI community forum, with hundreds of comments and upvotes and deleted threads, yet remains unimplemented. Do any of you could think of a reason (UX-wise) for it not to be displayed?
> Do any of you could think of a reason (UX-wise) for it not to be displayed?
I can imagine a legal one. If the LLM messes big time[1], timestamps could help build the case against it, and make investigation work easier.
[1] https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2025/new-study...
Re: ChatGPT conversations still lack timestamps after years of requests
#49New startup idea: ChatGPT but with timestamps. $100M series A
Re: ChatGPT conversations still lack timestamps after years of requests
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
What purpose does logging your lifting with chatgpt achieve?
It’s an incredible tool for weightlifting. I use it all the time to analyze my workout logs that I copy/paste from Apple Notes. Example prompts: - “Modify my Push #2 routine to avoid aggravating my rotator cuff” - “Summarize my progression over the past 2 months. What lifts are progressing and which are lagging? Suggest how to optimize training” - “Are my legs hamstring or glute dominant? How should I adjust training…
That's brilliant. I have an injury for a while now, and I change my routine on the fly at the gym, depending on whether I still feel pain or not. Much better if I change it before the next time I go, so I don't waste time figuring out what to replace.