Freshness and source dates

How to read observation dates, source dates, stale data, and a requested refresh.

Last reviewed October 19, 2026Download Markdown ↓

Every fact PeekPanda shows has a date. The date tells you when the public information was observed; it is not a claim that the fact is still true right now.

PeekPanda normally serves stored observations so pages can load without waiting on a public source. Read the date with the result, especially when you are comparing ranks, estimates, or keyword signals.

Observation dates and source dates

An observed at date is when PeekPanda recorded public information. A source updated date, where a source provides one, is when that source says its information changed. A source can be updated before PeekPanda records it, so the two dates may differ.

Some facts are point-in-time observations, such as a chart position or a search result. Others describe the latest public listing information available to PeekPanda. The case file labels the date so you can tell which you are reading.

History and comparisons

When PeekPanda has more than one observation, it may show a change from the preceding available observation. That is not always a day-to-day comparison: the interval can differ if there was no comparable earlier observation.

The first available observation has no prior comparison. PeekPanda shows the value and its date rather than inventing a zero change.

What stale means

Stale means the observation is older than PeekPanda’s normal freshness expectation for that type of data, or has not been collected yet. It does not mean the observation is false. It remains evidence of the date on which it was recorded.

Different data types age at different rates. Rankings, public listing information, and keyword signals each have their own freshness expectations because they change differently. A never-collected value is clearly distinguished from an older one.

Paid ads are collected per chosen app, so boards and the market signals API and MCP read say when each app’s ads were last collected: never (no collection has finished, so no ads says nothing about the app), stale (the last collection is more than two days old) or fresh. Zero ads only means an app runs no ads PeekPanda could find when its collection is fresh.

What a refresh changes

A refresh asks PeekPanda to collect a newer public observation when one is appropriate. It does not rewrite the past or guarantee that a source has changed. The prior observation remains the historical context for later comparisons.

Some refreshes complete asynchronously. In that case, PeekPanda confirms that the request is pending and updates the page when newer evidence is available. If collection is temporarily unavailable, the last valid observation stays visible with its date.

Reading dates well

Compare facts observed in comparable periods.
Check the prior-observation date before interpreting a change.
Treat a derived value as only as current as the public observations supporting it.
Use an unavailable value as an honest gap in evidence, not a zero.

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