How frequently a dashboard updates on screen depends on two factors:
The update behavior of the source website
The session refresh rate applied by the ScreenCloud Dashboards app (or any other app displaying the site)
How ScreenCloud Dashboards updates content
ScreenCloud Dashboards captures periodic screenshots of a webpage or a selected section of a webpage.
You can customize how often these captures occur using the Session Refresh Rate, found in the Manage Session step.
Default: 10 minutes
Custom: From every hour up to every 12 hours
Shorter intervals are possible, but keep performance and resource usage in mind. (See our guidance article before making adjustments.)
This method is best suited for dashboards where data doesn't need to update instantly.
Important distinction: Dashboard site updates vs. session refreshes
After completing the Dashboard login steps in the app (and after each session refresh), ScreenCloud renders the live webpage with updates appearing on screen approximately every 5 seconds, as long as the source site updates at that frequency.
The Session Refresh Rate does not control how often data changes on a live dashboard. It only re-runs the initial page load, login, or authentication flow at the interval you choose.
This is why dashboards with frequently updating data can still show live changes, even if the Session Refresh Rate is set 10 minutes.
Alternative apps or features when ScreenCloud Dashboards isn’t the right fit
Dashboard sites with highly dynamic or real-time data—such as visuals that update every second—are not a good fit for the screenshot-based method used by ScreenCloud Dashboards. For real-time needs, you should use one of ScreenCloud’s live-content apps instead.
These apps display content directly rather than relying on screenshots. It is also required for your dashboard content to be publicly accessible and not behind a login, unlike for ScreenCloud Dashboards.
Keep in mind that the on-screen content will typically refresh and update about every 5 minutes with the above suggestions, as this is the time needed for all services to communicate and update the display.
Don't see ScreenCloud Dashboards in your account? This feature can be added to your account with an upgrade to the Pro or Enterprise plan. Please reach out to ScreenCloud support or your account manager to get help with this.