A "stale profile" is a cached profile where the data is more than 29 days old. It may not reflect the person's or company's most recent information — like a new job title, updated company details, or changed contact info.
Enrich Layer maintains a large database of pre-enriched profiles to deliver fast API responses. When you make an API call, you typically receive cached data from this database rather than a live lookup. A profile becomes "stale" when its cached data hasn't been refreshed within the last 29 days.
How Caching Works
Every API response includes a `last_updated` timestamp that tells you when the profile data was last retrieved:
{
"meta": {
"last_updated": "2023-10-26T11:34:30Z",
"thin_profile": false
}
}
Enrich Layer processes approximately 2 billion profile checks per month to keep data current. However, with hundreds of millions of profiles in the database, some profiles may not have been refreshed recently — making them stale.
How to Control Data Freshness
You can control whether you receive stale data using the `use_cache` parameter in your API requests:
Parameter Value | Behavior | Credit Cost |
`use_cache=if-present` (default) | Returns cached data regardless of age — fast and cost-effective, but may return stale profiles | 1 credit |
`use_cache=if-recent` | Returns cached data only if it's less than 29 days old — older profiles trigger a fresh lookup | 1 + 1 credit |
When `use_cache=if-recent` is set:
1. Enrich Layer checks the cache first
2. If the cached data is less than 29 days old, it's returned as-is
3. If the cached data is older than 29 days (stale), a fresh lookup is triggered
4. If the fresh lookup fails, behavior depends on your `fallback_to_cache` setting:
- `fallback_to_cache=on-error` — returns the stale cached data as a fallback
- `fallback_to_cache=never` — returns an error instead of stale data
Configuring Your Default in the Dashboard
You can set your default `use_cache` behavior in your Enrich Layer dashboard so you don't have to specify it in every request:
1. Log into your dashboard
2. Navigate to Settings
3. Find the Data Freshness toggles
4. Enable or disable freshness for Person Profile and Company Profile endpoints separately
When enabled, the dashboard sets `use_cache=if-recent` as your default. You can still override this per-request by including `use_cache` in your API call.
Which Setting Should I Use?
Use Case | Recommended Setting | Why |
Bulk enrichment | `if-present` | Most cost-effective — 1 credit per call |
Active leads or prospects | `if-recent` | Ensures data is current for outreach |
Critical business decisions | `if-recent` + review `last_updated` | Confirms data recency before acting |
Key Takeaways
- A stale profile has cached data older than 29 days
- Use `use_cache=if-present` (default) for cost-effective lookups that may return older data
- Use `use_cache=if-recent` to ensure fresh data, at +1 additional credit per request
- Check the `last_updated` field in the API response to see how recent your data is
- Set your preferred default in the dashboard under Data Freshness settings
Still Need Help?
If you have questions about data freshness or profile caching, reach out to our support team at '[email protected]' or message us via the in-app chat.