diff --git a/src/serena/config/serena_config.py b/src/serena/config/serena_config.py
index 622fbf8b..5f6b3fe6 100644
--- a/src/serena/config/serena_config.py
+++ b/src/serena/config/serena_config.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import shutil
 from collections.abc import Iterator, Sequence
 from copy import deepcopy
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
-from datetime import datetime
+from datetime import UTC, datetime
 from enum import Enum
 from functools import cached_property
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -511,6 +511,19 @@ class SerenaConfig(ToolInclusionDefinition, ModeSelectionDefinition, ToStringMix
     CONFIG_FIELDS_WITH_TYPE_CONVERSION = {"projects", "language_backend"}
 
     # *** methods ***
+    @classmethod
+    def get_config_file_creation_date(cls) -> datetime | None:
+        """
+        :return: the creation date of the configuration file, or None if the configuration file does not exist
+        """
+        config_file_path = cls._determine_config_file_path()
+        if not os.path.exists(config_file_path):
+            return None
+
+        # for unix systems st_ctime is the inode change time (change of metadata),
+        # which is good enough for our purposes
+        creation_timestamp = os.stat(config_file_path).st_ctime
+        return datetime.fromtimestamp(creation_timestamp, UTC)
 
     @property
     def config_file_path(self) -> str | None:
diff --git a/src/serena/dashboard.py b/src/serena/dashboard.py
index fdc55656..dca3d730 100644
--- a/src/serena/dashboard.py
+++ b/src/serena/dashboard.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ from pydantic import BaseModel
 from sensai.util import logging
 
 from serena.analytics import ToolUsageStats
-from serena.config.serena_config import LanguageBackend, SerenaPaths
+from serena.config.serena_config import LanguageBackend, SerenaConfig, SerenaPaths
 from serena.constants import SERENA_DASHBOARD_DIR
 from serena.task_executor import TaskExecutor
 from serena.util.logging import MemoryLogHandler
@@ -324,12 +324,25 @@ class SerenaDashboardAPI:
             def _get_unread_news_ids() -> list[int]:
                 all_news_files = (Path(SERENA_DASHBOARD_DIR) / "news").glob("*.html")
                 all_news_ids = [int(f.stem) for f in all_news_files]
+                """News ids are ints of format YYYYMMDD (publication dates)"""
+
+                # Filter news items by installation date
+                serena_config_creation_date = SerenaConfig.get_config_file_creation_date()
+                if serena_config_creation_date is None:
+                    # should not normally happen, since config file should exist when the dashboard is started
+                    # We assume a fresh installation in this case
+                    log.error("Serena config file not found when starting the dashboard")
+                    return []
+                serena_config_creation_date_int = int(serena_config_creation_date.strftime("%Y%m%d"))
+                # Only include news items published on or after the installation date
+                post_installation_news_ids = [news_id for news_id in all_news_ids if news_id >= serena_config_creation_date_int]
+
                 news_snippet_id_file = SerenaPaths().news_snippet_id_file
                 if not os.path.exists(news_snippet_id_file):
-                    return all_news_ids
+                    return post_installation_news_ids
                 with open(news_snippet_id_file, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     last_read_news_id = int(f.read().strip())
-                return [news_id for news_id in all_news_ids if news_id > last_read_news_id]
+                return [news_id for news_id in post_installation_news_ids if news_id > last_read_news_id]
 
             try:
                 unread_news_ids = _get_unread_news_ids()