diff --git a/retroshare-gui/src/util/misc.cpp b/retroshare-gui/src/util/misc.cpp
index ef91dbe8c..08fa72f5d 100644
--- a/retroshare-gui/src/util/misc.cpp
+++ b/retroshare-gui/src/util/misc.cpp
@@ -209,6 +209,9 @@ QString misc::userFriendlyDuration(qlonglong seconds)
 
 QString misc::timeRelativeToNow(uint32_t mtime)
 {
+    if(mtime == 0)
+        return QString();
+
 	time_t now = time(NULL) ;
 	if(mtime > now)
 		return misc::userFriendlyDuration(mtime - (int)now) + " (ahead of now)";