If you opened the Performance report in Google Search Console on October 13, 2026 and tried to set a custom date range, you probably hit a wall. The end date field shows a date from 1969, and any attempt to change it returns an error that reads “Date can’t be after 1969-12-31.” No matter what you enter, the report will not accept it.
This is not a problem with your account, your browser, or your property settings. It is a bug on Google’s side, and it is affecting SEOs and site owners who rely on custom date ranges for reporting.
What Is Broken
The issue sits inside the date picker on the Search Console Performance report. Specifically:
- The custom date range option fails. The end date appears locked to 1969-12-31 for some users, while others see 1970-01-01.
- Trying to edit the end date triggers the validation error, so the range cannot be applied.
- The preset ranges still work as normal: 24 hours, 7 days, 28 days, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 16 months.
The problem was flagged on X by a user named Punit and then reported by Barry Schwartz on Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Land on October 13, 2026. As of this writing, Google has not posted an official statement or added a note to its data anomalies page.
Why the Date Shows 1969
The 1969 and 1970 dates are a familiar sign of a software bug. Most systems store time as a count of seconds from January 1, 1970 (UTC), known as the Unix epoch. When a date value fails to load and falls back to zero, the interface displays that starting point. For users in time zones behind UTC, zero converts to December 31, 1969. That explains why some people see 1969 and others see 1970.
In short, the picker is not reading the correct maximum date, so it treats the epoch as the latest allowed value and blocks everything after it.
Does This Affect Your Search Data?
No. This is an interface problem, not a data problem. Your clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position are still being recorded. Rankings and traffic are not affected. The only thing you lose is the ability to select a custom window inside the Performance report while the bug is live.
If your numbers do look lower than usual, the date picker is not the reason. Review the common causes of a website traffic drop and how to fix them before assuming the worst.
That said, it can slow down work that depends on exact dates, such as:
- Monthly client reports that run on calendar months
- Before-and-after comparisons around a website redesign or migration, or a core update
- Campaign or seasonal analysis tied to specific start and end dates
- Year-over-year comparisons for the same month
Workarounds Until Google Fixes It
1. Use the preset ranges
The 28-day, 3-month, and longer presets still load correctly. Pick the closest preset, open the Dates tab, and export the daily data. You can then filter the exact dates you need in Google Sheets or Excel.
2. Export daily data and trim it
Export the 16-month view with the Dates tab selected. This gives you day-level clicks and impressions for the full history, which you can slice to any range offline. Keep in mind that query and page tables in the export reflect the whole selected range, not individual days.
3. Use Looker Studio or the Search Console API
The bug lives in the web interface. Looker Studio dashboards connected to Search Console, the Search Analytics API, and tools such as the Search Analytics for Sheets add-on all accept their own start and end dates. If you already have a reporting dashboard set up, this is the fastest way to keep client reports on schedule.
If you are building a backup reporting setup, this roundup of top digital marketing tools for businesses covers several options worth considering.
4. Check bulk data export in BigQuery
If your property is connected to BigQuery bulk export, you can query any date range directly with SQL, without touching the date picker.
5. Try the basic fixes, then wait
A hard refresh, an incognito window, or a different browser is worth a quick try, but do not expect it to solve a server-side bug. If the error appears across every property you manage, the issue is on Google’s end.
A Recurring Weak Spot in Search Console
This is not the first time the Search Console date controls have misbehaved. In December 2024, the Performance report had a bug when comparing two date ranges, around the same time Google rolled out its new date picker and 24-hour view. In March 2026, the crawl stats report had a date picker that would not open when users clicked directly on the dropdown arrow. Separately, Google has acknowledged several data logging issues over the past two years, including an impressions over-reporting problem that ran from May 2025 to April 2026.
Not every Search Console warning is a Google bug, though. Indexing errors usually point to real problems on your site, and this guide on fixing Google Search Console indexing issues explains how to tell the difference and resolve them.
The pattern is a good reminder not to rely on a single interface for reporting. Keeping a backup data source, such as Looker Studio, the API, or BigQuery, protects your workflow whenever Search Console has a bad day. It also matters more now that Google AI Overviews are changing SEO, and many teams pair Search Console with AI search monitoring to see the full picture of their visibility.
What SEOs and Agencies Should Do Now
- Switch to preset ranges or a connected dashboard for any reports due this week.
- Let clients know the delay, if any, is caused by a Search Console interface bug and not by a change in performance.
- Watch the Google Search Central account on X and the Search Console data anomalies page for an official update.
- Once the fix rolls out, recheck any custom ranges you approximated with presets.
- If performance has genuinely slipped, audit your site for the SEO mistakes that are killing traffic in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my Google Search Console date range stuck in 1969?
It is a bug in the Performance report date picker. The end date falls back to the Unix epoch, which shows as December 31, 1969 or January 1, 1970 depending on your time zone.
Is my Search Console data lost?
No. Only the custom date selector is affected. Data collection and rankings are unchanged, and preset date ranges still display your data correctly.
Which date ranges still work?
The preset options work: 24 hours, 7 days, 28 days, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 16 months. Only the custom range fails.
How can I get data for a specific date range right now?
Export daily data from a preset range and filter it in a spreadsheet, or use Looker Studio, the Search Console API, or BigQuery bulk export, all of which accept custom dates.
Has Google confirmed the bug?
Not at the time of writing. The issue was reported by the SEO community on October 13, 2026. We will update this post when Google responds or a fix is released.
Conclusion
The Google Search Console date selector bug is frustrating, but it is limited in scope. Your data is safe, the preset ranges still work, and there are reliable ways to pull exact date ranges outside the web interface. Use the workarounds above to keep reporting on track, and expect Google to patch the picker soon, as it has with past interface issues.