Proper Data Timestamps

Owned by Andrew Rankin
Last updated: Nov 05, 2020
1 min read
This article pertains to: Legacy API (V1) Inform (v2)

How do I set the "timestamp" attribute when posting or updating data records to the Partner API?

For Partner Apps, when making POST or PUT requests to create or update your user data, it is important to set the proper timestamp to your data. Please use the following guidelines:

  • The "timestamp" attribute should always reflect UTC time. For fitness records, you may provide the "start_time" in the user's timezone and set the "utc_offset" value to your user's timezone. This makes sure that timestamp values are universally in UTC time, with the "utc_offset" provided so that third-party applications would be able to display the data in the user's timezone.

  • All timestamp data should be in the proper format. Validic uses the ISO8601 timestamp format which is "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ". The "T" is the date and time separator while "Z" is the timezone which must be specified in hour and minute with plus or minus to signify offset. For example, to signify UTC time, it would be "+00:00". Similarly, "utc_offset" must be provided in this timezone format.