Which profile changes belong in ProfilePage.dateModified?

Definition: ProfilePage.dateModified is the date and time when information in a profile was modified, expressed as an ISO 8601 DateTime. Google recommends that it represent human-edited metadata changes to the profile.

Key facts

• Google lists dateModified as a recommended DateTime property for ProfilePage, rather than a required property, in its ProfilePage structured data documentation.
• The value records when information in the profile was modified and uses ISO 8601 date format, according to Google's property definition.
• Google says the value should ideally represent human-edited metadata changes to the profile, and gives extra outlinks to places where the profile is referenced as an example that is not a modification.
• Schema.org defines dateModified more generally as the date on which a CreativeWork was most recently modified or an item's entry was modified within a DataFeed in its dateModified property definition.
• A ProfilePage must identify its subject with mainEntity, typed as Person or Organization, so the timestamp belongs to information about that profile subject.

What counts as a profile change?

Google describes mainEntity as the person or organization the profile page is about and says that this identifies the page's primary focus. Its property table then describes name as the primary way to identify the subject, alternateName as a social media handle, description as a byline or applicable credential, identifier as a unique site identifier, image as a profile image, and sameAs as URLs to external profiles or home pages.

A human edit to one of those documented fields is the clearest implementation case for updating dateModified, because it changes metadata that describes the profile. Google does not provide a complete field-by-field trigger list, so the documented principle is the boundary: the edit must concern the profile's own metadata.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "ProfilePage",
  "dateModified": "2024-12-26T14:53:00-05:00",
  "mainEntity": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Angelo Huff"
  }
}

Which changes stay outside the value?

Google's example draws a specific boundary: adding extra outlinks to places where the profile is referenced would not be a modification. An automated process that adds references on other pages therefore has no documented basis for changing the profile's dateModified value. The example concerns links around the profile, while sameAs describes external profiles or home pages belonging to the profile subject.

This distinction also separates the profile record from a wider link graph. A change to the profile's own human-edited sameAs metadata fits the stated principle; adding a link to the profile from another page matches Google's excluded example.

How should the timestamp be represented?

For ProfilePage, Google's recommended property uses the DateTime type and ISO 8601 format. The documentation's example uses 2024-12-26T14:53:00-05:00, which includes a time and an offset. The separate dateCreated property records when the profile was created, so creation and later metadata edits have different fields.

Schema.org's general definition describes dateModified as the most recent modification date for a CreativeWork or an item entry in a DataFeed. The Google-specific ProfilePage table identifies the value as a DateTime, so a profile implementation should follow Google's DateTime and ISO 8601 wording.

Related terms

• Which profile pages qualify for Google's ProfilePage markup?
• How should profile markup represent a name and account handle?
• How can profile markup retain identity when a handle changes?
• How do profile follower counts differ from following counts in markup?

FAQ

Is dateModified required for ProfilePage?

No. Google places it under recommended properties, while mainEntity appears under required properties for ProfilePage.

Should an automatic link update change dateModified?

Google's documented example says that adding extra outlinks to places where the profile is referenced would not be a modification. A link update of that kind should therefore remain outside the timestamp.

What if only the public handle changes?

Google documents alternateName for a social media handle and identifier for an internal site ID that can continue to identify a user even when the handle changes. A human edit to that identity metadata belongs to the profile-change case described above.

Sources

1. Google Search Central, "Profile page (ProfilePage) structured data", 8 September 2026
2. Schema.org, "dateModified", undated
3. Schema.org, "ProfilePage", undated

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