Primus: Why Data Verification Needs an Expiry Date One important question in digital verification is often overlooked: How long should a verified piece of information remain trustworthy? Imagine someone proves today that they have $10,000 in their exchange account. A financial application verifies the information and accepts it as evidence. But three months later, should another platform still trust that same proof? Not necessarily. The user might have withdrawn the funds or transferred them elsewhere. The original proof may be genuine, but the information could already be outdated. This is why data freshness matters. Verification vs. Data Freshness Verification helps establish whether information came from a particular source and whether it has been altered. Data freshness asks a different question: Does that information still reflect the current situation? For example, a verified bank balance from Monday doesn't automatically represent someone's balance on Friday. How can applications handle this? There are three useful approaches: 1. Timestamps: Show when the information was collected or verified. 2. Expiration windows: Set a period after which a proof is no longer accepted. A lending platform might require financial information collected within the last 24 hours. 3. Reverification: Request fresh evidence when the previous proof becomes too old. Where does Primus fit in? Primus uses zkTLS to help users generate cryptographic proofs about information obtained from supported websites. Applications can verify information from external platforms without relying entirely on screenshots or manually entered claims. However, zkTLS doesn't automatically guarantee that information remains current. Developers still need to apply timestamps, expiration rules and fresh verification when necessary. For example, a DeFi platform assessing someone's financial eligibility may reject an old proof and request a new one before making a decision. Why does this matter? Data freshness is important for: - DeFi: Financial records can change quickly. - Digital identity: Credentials can expire or be revoked. - Prediction markets: Information must be relevant to the event. - Reputation systems: Old records may not reflect current standing. - AI applications: Outdated information can lead to unreliable decisions. My takeaway Verifying information is only part of the process. Applications must also understand when it was collected, how quickly it can change and when it needs to be checked again. Primus helps make external web information verifiable, while freshness rules can help applications use that information more responsibly. Trustworthy data isn't just about knowing where information came from. It's also about knowing whether it's still relevant. @primus_labs