Is the Algorithm Update Tracker API free?

Yes, the API is free for non-commercial use with attribution. Commercial use requires written permission from DemandSphere.

How often is the API data updated?

The API is rebuilt with each site deploy. Live data from Google's Search Status Dashboard is available on the tracker page itself. The API reflects the latest confirmed updates at build time.

What license applies to this data?

CC BY-NC 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International). You must credit DemandSphere and link back to the tracker.

What data is included in the API?

Over 170 Google algorithm updates from 2000 to present, including update name, start and end dates, duration, type classification (Core, Spam, System, etc.), descriptions, AI innovation flags, and Google Search Status Dashboard incident IDs where available.

Tracker API

Free JSON endpoint for Google algorithm update data. 173 updates from 2000 to present with dates, types, durations, and descriptions.

Endpoint

        GET https://www.demandsphere.com/research/demandsphere-radar/algorithm-update-tracker/api.json
        
      

Returns the full dataset as a single JSON object. No authentication required. No rate limiting. Response is static and cached by Cloudflare.

License

CC BY-NC 4.0 View license

Attribution required - credit DemandSphere and link to the tracker
Non-commercial use only
Commercial use requires written permission
Contact: demandsphere.com/contact

Response Format

Top-level fields

          license: "CC BY-NC 4.0"

          license_url: string

          attribution: string

          attribution_url: string

          terms: string

          updated: "YYYY-MM-DD"

          update_count: number

          data_sources: [string]

          updates: [object]

Update object fields

          name: string

          start: "YYYY-MM-DD"

          end: "YYYY-MM-DD" | null

          dur: "X days" | null

          cat: "Core" | "Spam" | "System" | "Other"

          ai: boolean (AI innovation flag)

          incidentId: string (Google Status ID)

          desc: string (summary)

Data Sources

Google Search Status Dashboard

Live ranking incidents from 2021 onward. Includes incident IDs for cross-referencing with Google's official records.

DemandSphere Historical Database

20+ years of algorithm updates tracked in DemandSphere's annotation database. Covers the pre-Status Dashboard era from 2000 to 2020.

Google Research Publications

AI innovation milestones sourced from Google Research papers and announcements. Entries flagged with ai: true.

Example Usage

curl

curl https://www.demandsphere.com/research/demandsphere-radar/algorithm-update-tracker/api.json

curl + jq

curl -s https://www.demandsphere.com/research/demandsphere-radar/algorithm-update-tracker/api.json \
  | jq '[.updates[] | select(.ai==true)] | .[] | {name, start}'

JavaScript

fetch('https://www.demandsphere.com/research/demandsphere-radar/algorithm-update-tracker/api.json')
  .then(r => r.json())
  .then(data => {
    const core = data.updates.filter(u => u.cat === 'Core');
    console.log(core.length + ' core updates');
  });

Python

import requests
data = requests.get('https://www.demandsphere.com/research/demandsphere-radar/algorithm-update-tracker/api.json').json()
ai = [u for u in data['updates'] if u.get('ai')]
for m in ai:
    print(f"{m['start']} - {m['name']}")

Required Attribution

When using this data, include one of the following:

      <!-- HTML -->

      Data from <a href="https://www.demandsphere.com/research/demandsphere-radar/algorithm-update-tracker/">DemandSphere Radar</a>

      # Markdown / plain text

      Data: DemandSphere Radar (demandsphere.com/research/demandsphere-radar/algorithm-update-tracker)

DemandSphere Radar

Build on top of this data

Use the API to correlate algorithm updates with your own ranking data, build dashboards, or integrate update alerts into your workflow.

View Tracker Get a demo