diff --git a/src/services/bookmarkHelpers.ts b/src/services/bookmarkHelpers.ts
index 614d5ba4..9063cedb 100644
--- a/src/services/bookmarkHelpers.ts
+++ b/src/services/bookmarkHelpers.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ export { dedupeNip51Events } from './bookmarkEvents'
 export const processApplesauceBookmarks = (
   bookmarks: unknown,
   activeAccount: ActiveAccount,
-  isPrivate: boolean
+  isPrivate: boolean,
+  parentCreatedAt?: number
 ): IndividualBookmark[] => {
   if (!bookmarks) return []
 
@@ -76,14 +77,14 @@ export const processApplesauceBookmarks = (
         allItems.push({
           id: note.id,
           content: '',
-          created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+          created_at: parentCreatedAt || 0,
           pubkey: note.author || activeAccount.pubkey,
           kind: 1, // Short note kind
           tags: [],
           parsedContent: undefined,
           type: 'event' as const,
           isPrivate,
-          added_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
+          added_at: parentCreatedAt || 0
         })
       })
     }
@@ -96,14 +97,14 @@ export const processApplesauceBookmarks = (
         allItems.push({
           id: coordinate,
           content: '',
-          created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+          created_at: parentCreatedAt || 0,
           pubkey: article.pubkey,
           kind: article.kind, // Usually 30023 for long-form articles
           tags: [],
           parsedContent: undefined,
           type: 'event' as const,
           isPrivate,
-          added_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
+          added_at: parentCreatedAt || 0
         })
       })
     }
@@ -114,14 +115,14 @@ export const processApplesauceBookmarks = (
         allItems.push({
           id: `hashtag-${hashtag}`,
           content: `#${hashtag}`,
-          created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+          created_at: parentCreatedAt || 0,
           pubkey: activeAccount.pubkey,
           kind: 1,
           tags: [['t', hashtag]],
           parsedContent: undefined,
           type: 'event' as const,
           isPrivate,
-          added_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
+          added_at: parentCreatedAt || 0
         })
       })
     }
@@ -132,14 +133,14 @@ export const processApplesauceBookmarks = (
         allItems.push({
           id: `url-${url}`,
           content: url,
-          created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+          created_at: parentCreatedAt || 0,
           pubkey: activeAccount.pubkey,
           kind: 1,
           tags: [['r', url]],
           parsedContent: undefined,
           type: 'event' as const,
           isPrivate,
-          added_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
+          added_at: parentCreatedAt || 0
         })
       })
     }
@@ -153,14 +154,14 @@ export const processApplesauceBookmarks = (
     .map((bookmark: BookmarkData) => ({
       id: bookmark.id!,
       content: bookmark.content || '',
-      created_at: bookmark.created_at || Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+      created_at: bookmark.created_at || parentCreatedAt || 0,
       pubkey: activeAccount.pubkey,
       kind: bookmark.kind || 30001,
       tags: bookmark.tags || [],
       parsedContent: bookmark.content ? (getParsedContent(bookmark.content) as ParsedContent) : undefined,
       type: 'event' as const,
       isPrivate,
-      added_at: bookmark.created_at || Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
+      added_at: bookmark.created_at || parentCreatedAt || 0
     }))
 }
 
diff --git a/src/services/bookmarkProcessing.ts b/src/services/bookmarkProcessing.ts
index 37bf91ff..dfbd4137 100644
--- a/src/services/bookmarkProcessing.ts
+++ b/src/services/bookmarkProcessing.ts
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ async function decryptEvent(
           const hiddenTags = JSON.parse(decryptedContent) as string[][]
           const manualPrivate = Helpers.parseBookmarkTags(hiddenTags)
           privateItems.push(
-            ...processApplesauceBookmarks(manualPrivate, activeAccount, true).map(i => ({
+            ...processApplesauceBookmarks(manualPrivate, activeAccount, true, evt.created_at).map(i => ({
               ...i,
               sourceKind: evt.kind,
               setName: dTag,
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ async function decryptEvent(
     const priv = Helpers.getHiddenBookmarks(evt)
     if (priv) {
       privateItems.push(
-        ...processApplesauceBookmarks(priv, activeAccount, true).map(i => ({
+        ...processApplesauceBookmarks(priv, activeAccount, true, evt.created_at).map(i => ({
           ...i,
           sourceKind: evt.kind,
           setName: dTag,
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ export async function collectBookmarksFromEvents(
 
     const pub = Helpers.getPublicBookmarks(evt)
     publicItemsAll.push(
-      ...processApplesauceBookmarks(pub, activeAccount, false).map(i => ({
+      ...processApplesauceBookmarks(pub, activeAccount, false, evt.created_at).map(i => ({
         ...i,
         sourceKind: evt.kind,
         setName: dTag,
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ export async function collectBookmarksFromEvents(
       const priv = Helpers.getHiddenBookmarks(evt)
       if (priv) {
         publicItemsAll.push(
-          ...processApplesauceBookmarks(priv, activeAccount, true).map(i => ({
+          ...processApplesauceBookmarks(priv, activeAccount, true, evt.created_at).map(i => ({
             ...i,
             sourceKind: evt.kind,
             setName: dTag,
diff --git a/src/utils/bookmarkUtils.tsx b/src/utils/bookmarkUtils.tsx
index afd47ee4..dc671a14 100644
--- a/src/utils/bookmarkUtils.tsx
+++ b/src/utils/bookmarkUtils.tsx
@@ -121,36 +121,11 @@ export function hasContent(bookmark: IndividualBookmark): boolean {
 // Check if bookmark has a real creation date (not "Now" / current time)
 export function hasCreationDate(bookmark: IndividualBookmark): boolean {
   if (!bookmark.created_at) return false
-  
-  // For web bookmarks (kind 39701), they always have real timestamps from events
-  if (bookmark.kind === 39701 || bookmark.sourceKind === 39701) {
-    return true
-  }
-  
-  // If bookmark has no content, it likely failed to hydrate and its timestamp is a placeholder
-  const hasContent = bookmark.content && bookmark.content.trim().length > 0
-  if (!hasContent) {
-    return false
-  }
-  
-  // Check for URL-only bookmarks (synthetic bookmarks from NIP-51 processing)
-  // These get placeholder timestamps and should be filtered if they haven't been properly hydrated
-  const contentIsUrl = /^https?:\/\//i.test(bookmark.content.trim())
-  const hasMinimalTags = !bookmark.tags || bookmark.tags.length <= 1
-  
-  // If content is just a URL and there are minimal tags, this is likely an unhydrated reference
-  // These bookmarks are created with placeholder timestamps during NIP-51 processing
-  if (contentIsUrl && hasMinimalTags) {
-    // Additionally check if the ID suggests it's a synthetic bookmark
-    const isSyntheticId = bookmark.id.startsWith('url-') || 
-                          bookmark.id.startsWith('hashtag-') ||
-                          /^[0-9a-f]{64}$/i.test(bookmark.id) === false && !bookmark.id.includes(':')
-    if (isSyntheticId) {
-      return false
-    }
-  }
-  
-  return true
+  // If timestamp is missing or equals current time (within 1 second), consider it invalid
+  const now = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
+  const createdAt = Math.floor(bookmark.created_at)
+  // If created_at is within 1 second of now, it's likely missing/placeholder
+  return Math.abs(createdAt - now) > 1
 }
 
 // Bookmark sets helpers (kind 30003)