Facebook fbclid URL parameters contain extractable info, including timestamps
9 hours ago
- The fbclid parameter is added by Facebook/Instagram to outgoing links, tracking clicks.
- There are two generations: legacy (2018-2024, 61 characters, only reveals platform) and modern (2024-present, 100-190 characters, includes timestamps and other data).
- The first two characters indicate platform: 'Iw' for Facebook, 'PA' for Instagram.
- Modern fbclid contains a header, a base64 payload with named fields (e.g., clck, app_id, brid), and an optional AEM suffix.
- Timestamp fields like clck can be decoded using epoch 2024-01-01 20:29:36 UTC to get the exact click time.
- The brid field (browser ID) links clicks from the same browser across sessions; app_id identifies the Facebook app used.
- All findings are reverse-engineered and not officially documented by Meta; the Unfurl tool automates decoding.