diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6182cdc..b442f3a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [0.4.4] — 2026-07-11
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+- Actor cache TTL now treats `fetched_at: None` as always-stale instead of always-fresh. Consumers who never populated `fetched_at` were silently getting no cache invalidation.
+
+---
+
 ## [0.4.3] — 2026-07-11
 
 ### Bug fixes
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index b9580be..c6aaeb9 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1368,7 +1368,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "k-ap"
-version = "0.4.3"
+version = "0.4.4"
 dependencies = [
  "activitypub_federation",
  "anyhow",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index d94d4e3..aa09961 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "k-ap"
-version = "0.4.3"
+version = "0.4.4"
 edition = "2024"
 description = "Generic ActivityPub protocol layer"
 license = "MIT"
diff --git a/src/service/fetch.rs b/src/service/fetch.rs
index 27d6a57..5aa0d8b 100644
--- a/src/service/fetch.rs
+++ b/src/service/fetch.rs
@@ -39,7 +39,10 @@ impl ActivityPubService {
                     let age = chrono::Utc::now().signed_duration_since(t);
                     age < chrono::Duration::from_std(data.actor_cache_ttl).unwrap_or_default()
                 })
-                .unwrap_or(true);
+                .unwrap_or_else(|| {
+                    tracing::debug!(actor_url, "fetched_at is None, treating as stale — consider populating fetched_at in get_remote_actor()");
+                    false
+                });
             if is_fresh {
                 return Ok(cached);
             }