diff --git a/_update/update.sh b/_update/update.sh
index d5016a4..a158c03 100755
--- a/_update/update.sh
+++ b/_update/update.sh
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ notify() {
 : > "$LOG_FILE"
 log "Starting image update check"
 
-updated=(); failed=()
+updated=(); failed=(); checked=0
 
 for stack_dir in "$STACKS_DIR"/*/; do
   stack=$(basename "$stack_dir")
@@ -27,9 +27,13 @@ for stack_dir in "$STACKS_DIR"/*/; do
 
   log "Checking $stack"
   cd "$stack_dir"
-  pull_output=$(docker compose pull 2>&1 | tee -a "$LOG_FILE")
+  checked=$((checked + 1))
 
-  if echo "$pull_output" | grep -q " Pulled"; then
+  before=$(docker compose images -q 2>/dev/null | sort)
+  docker compose pull 2>&1 | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
+  after=$(docker compose images -q 2>/dev/null | sort)
+
+  if [ "$before" != "$after" ]; then
     log "  Updates found — recreating containers"
     if docker compose up -d 2>&1 | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"; then
       updated+=("$stack")
@@ -45,12 +49,14 @@ done
 log "Pruning dangling images"
 docker image prune -f 2>&1 | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
 
-if [ ${#updated[@]} -eq 0 ] && [ ${#failed[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
-  notify "#36a64f" "✅ **Update check complete** — all images up to date"
-elif [ ${#failed[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
-  notify "#cc0000" "❌ **Update failed**\nUpdated: ${updated[*]:-none}\nFailed: ${failed[*]}"
+date_str=$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')
+
+if [ ${#failed[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+  notify "#cc0000" "❌ **Update failed** — $date_str\nUpdated: ${updated[*]:-none}\nFailed: ${failed[*]}"
+elif [ ${#updated[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+  notify "#36a64f" "✅ **Updates applied** — $date_str\nStacks updated (${#updated[@]}/$checked): ${updated[*]}"
 else
-  notify "#36a64f" "✅ **Updates applied**\nStacks: ${updated[*]}"
+  notify "#36a64f" "✅ **All up to date** — $date_str ($checked stacks checked)"
 fi
 
 log "Update check complete"