diff --git a/package_alerts/package_alerts b/package_alerts/package_alerts
index a1af9f5e7f1fbe42965603c81b768a4b09bdbcc3..9302d869812b1f5cb28549639d020d2388587638 100755
--- a/package_alerts/package_alerts
+++ b/package_alerts/package_alerts
@@ -273,7 +273,8 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
                 print(f"{len(differences)} new package(s) detected", flush=True)
                 for p in differences:
                     format_release(p, feed, token)
-                set_local(upstream_packages, feed)
+        if upstream_packages > local_packages:
+            set_local(upstream_packages, feed)
     logfile.close()
     if os.stat(logfilename).st_size == 0:
         os.remove(logfilename)