diff --git a/data/stats.json b/data/stats.json
index 312ee9f..1101ca0 100644
--- a/data/stats.json
+++ b/data/stats.json
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 {
-  "generatedAt": "2026-07-08",
   "totals": {
     "studies": 204,
     "countries": 117,
diff --git a/js/app.js b/js/app.js
index e190e3d..39b0666 100644
--- a/js/app.js
+++ b/js/app.js
@@ -861,7 +861,7 @@
             ${barChart('By region', stats.byRegion, 'region')}
             ${barChart('By decade', stats.byDecade, 'decade')}
           </div>
-          <p class="insight-note">Data generated from ${t.studies} source files on ${escapeHtml(stats.generatedAt || '')}. Click a bar to filter the library.</p>`;
+          <p class="insight-note">Generated from ${t.studies} source files. Click a bar to filter the library.</p>`;
 
         panel.querySelectorAll('[data-filter-type]').forEach(el => {
           const apply = () => {
diff --git a/scripts/build.mjs b/scripts/build.mjs
index 7097642..0e10755 100644
--- a/scripts/build.mjs
+++ b/scripts/build.mjs
@@ -175,7 +175,8 @@ function buildStats(master) {
   const totalRefs = master.reduce((sum, s) => sum + (s.refs || 0), 0);
 
   return {
-    generatedAt: new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 10),
+    // NB: intentionally no timestamp here — the build must be deterministic so
+    // `--check` (CI) only fails on real data changes, not on the calendar date.
     totals: {
       studies: master.length,
       countries: new Set(master.map((s) => s.country)).size,