diff --git a/web/src/lib/format-timestamp.test.ts b/web/src/lib/format-timestamp.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a940430
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/src/lib/format-timestamp.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import { expect, test } from "vitest";
+
+import { formatTimestamp } from "./format-timestamp";
+
+test("formats a UTC timestamp with date and time in the given locale", () => {
+  const out = formatTimestamp("2026-06-08T12:30:00Z", "UTC", "en");
+  expect(out).toContain("2026");
+  expect(out).toContain("12:30");
+});
+
+test("applies the timezone — a near-midnight UTC instant shifts the calendar day", () => {
+  // 02:00 UTC on Jun 8 is 22:00 on Jun 7 in New York (EDT, UTC-4)
+  const ny = formatTimestamp("2026-06-08T02:00:00Z", "America/New_York", "en");
+  const utc = formatTimestamp("2026-06-08T02:00:00Z", "UTC", "en");
+  expect(ny).toContain("Jun 7");
+  expect(utc).toContain("Jun 8");
+});
+
+test("an invalid IANA zone does not throw and falls back to UTC", () => {
+  const out = formatTimestamp("2026-06-08T12:30:00Z", "Not/AZone", "en");
+  expect(out).toContain("2026");
+});
+
+test("null renders the em-dash placeholder; an unparseable string is returned unchanged", () => {
+  expect(formatTimestamp(null, "UTC", "en")).toBe("—");
+  expect(formatTimestamp("not-a-date", "UTC", "en")).toBe("not-a-date");
+});
diff --git a/web/src/lib/format-timestamp.ts b/web/src/lib/format-timestamp.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6adfbac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/src/lib/format-timestamp.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+/** Formats a UTC ISO timestamp for display in the instance timezone + active locale.
+ *  Storage/transmission stay UTC — this is display-only. Falls back to UTC formatting on an
+ *  invalid IANA zone (a misconfigured instance) rather than throwing. */
+export function formatTimestamp(value: unknown, timeZone: string, locale: string): string {
+  if (typeof value !== "string") return value == null ? "—" : String(value);
+
+  const date = new Date(value);
+  if (Number.isNaN(date.getTime())) return value;
+
+  const opts = { dateStyle: "medium", timeStyle: "short" } as const;
+
+  try {
+    return new Intl.DateTimeFormat(locale, { ...opts, timeZone }).format(date);
+  } catch {
+    // Invalid IANA timeZone (misconfigured instance) — fall back to UTC rather than crash.
+    return new Intl.DateTimeFormat(locale, { ...opts, timeZone: "UTC" }).format(date);
+  }
+}