diff --git a/migrations/20180627010633-apps-add-ts.js b/migrations/20180627010633-apps-add-ts.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0271247f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/20180627010633-apps-add-ts.js
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+'use strict';
+
+exports.up = function(db, callback) {
+    db.runSql('ALTER TABLE apps ADD COLUMN ts TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP', function (error) {
+        if (error) console.error(error);
+        callback(error);
+    });
+};
+
+exports.down = function(db, callback) {
+    db.runSql('ALTER TABLE apps DROP COLUMN ts ', function (error) {
+        if (error) console.error(error);
+        callback(error);
+    });
+};
diff --git a/migrations/schema.sql b/migrations/schema.sql
index 0c91f9cdf..bba875ad1 100644
--- a/migrations/schema.sql
+++ b/migrations/schema.sql
@@ -71,8 +71,9 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS apps(
     domain VARCHAR(128) NOT NULL,
     dnsRecordId VARCHAR(512), // tracks any id that we got back to track dns updates
     accessRestrictionJson TEXT, // { users: [ ], groups: [ ] }
-    creationTime TIMESTAMP(2) NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
-    updateTime TIMESTAMP(2) NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
+    creationTime TIMESTAMP(2) NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, // when the app was installed
+    updateTime TIMESTAMP(2) NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,   // when the last app update was done
+    ts TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, // when this db record was updated (useful for UI caching)
     memoryLimit BIGINT DEFAULT 0,
     xFrameOptions VARCHAR(512),
     sso BOOLEAN DEFAULT 1, // whether user chose to enable SSO
diff --git a/src/appdb.js b/src/appdb.js
index b986dc74f..2773f822f 100644
--- a/src/appdb.js
+++ b/src/appdb.js
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ var APPS_FIELDS_PREFIXED = [ 'apps.id', 'apps.appStoreId', 'apps.installationSta
     'apps.health', 'apps.containerId', 'apps.manifestJson', 'apps.httpPort', 'apps.location', 'apps.domain', 'apps.dnsRecordId',
     'apps.accessRestrictionJson', 'apps.restoreConfigJson', 'apps.oldConfigJson', 'apps.updateConfigJson', 'apps.memoryLimit',
     'apps.xFrameOptions', 'apps.sso', 'apps.debugModeJson', 'apps.robotsTxt', 'apps.enableBackup',
-    'apps.creationTime', 'apps.updateTime' ].join(',');
+    'apps.creationTime', 'apps.updateTime', 'apps.ts' ].join(',');
 
 var PORT_BINDINGS_FIELDS = [ 'hostPort', 'environmentVariable', 'appId' ].join(',');
 
diff --git a/src/apps.js b/src/apps.js
index cb0a1961d..7f0d30414 100644
--- a/src/apps.js
+++ b/src/apps.js
@@ -336,7 +336,7 @@ function removeInternalFields(app) {
 function removeRestrictedFields(app) {
     return _.pick(app,
         'id', 'appStoreId', 'installationState', 'installationProgress', 'runState', 'health',
-        'location', 'domain', 'fqdn', 'manifest', 'portBindings', 'iconUrl', 'creationTime', 'updateTime');
+        'location', 'domain', 'fqdn', 'manifest', 'portBindings', 'iconUrl', 'creationTime', 'ts');
 }
 
 function getIconUrlSync(app) {
diff --git a/src/test/database-test.js b/src/test/database-test.js
index 67144e107..7fa9157e6 100644
--- a/src/test/database-test.js
+++ b/src/test/database-test.js
@@ -823,7 +823,7 @@ describe('database', function () {
             appdb.get(APP_0.id, function (error, result) {
                 expect(error).to.be(null);
                 expect(result).to.be.an('object');
-                expect(_.omit(result, ['creationTime', 'updateTime'])).to.be.eql(APP_0);
+                expect(_.omit(result, ['creationTime', 'updateTime', 'ts'])).to.be.eql(APP_0);
                 done();
             });
         });
@@ -860,7 +860,7 @@ describe('database', function () {
                 appdb.get(APP_0.id, function (error, result) {
                     expect(error).to.be(null);
                     expect(result).to.be.an('object');
-                    expect(_.omit(result, ['creationTime', 'updateTime'])).to.be.eql(APP_0);
+                    expect(_.omit(result, ['creationTime', 'updateTime', 'ts'])).to.be.eql(APP_0);
                     done();
                 });
             });
@@ -870,7 +870,7 @@ describe('database', function () {
             appdb.getByHttpPort(APP_0.httpPort, function (error, result) {
                 expect(error).to.be(null);
                 expect(result).to.be.an('object');
-                expect(_.omit(result, ['creationTime', 'updateTime'])).to.be.eql(APP_0);
+                expect(_.omit(result, ['creationTime', 'updateTime', 'ts'])).to.be.eql(APP_0);
                 done();
             });
         });
@@ -895,8 +895,8 @@ describe('database', function () {
                 expect(error).to.be(null);
                 expect(result).to.be.an(Array);
                 expect(result.length).to.be(2);
-                expect(_.omit(result[0], ['creationTime', 'updateTime'])).to.be.eql(APP_0);
-                expect(_.omit(result[1], ['creationTime', 'updateTime'])).to.be.eql(APP_1);
+                expect(_.omit(result[0], ['creationTime', 'updateTime','ts'])).to.be.eql(APP_0);
+                expect(_.omit(result[1], ['creationTime', 'updateTime','ts'])).to.be.eql(APP_1);
                 done();
             });
         });