Do I need to perform my next hack within 24 hours of the current one in order to keep Sojourner alive? [duplicate]

Solution 1:

TLDR; No, not necessarily.

I know, this contradicts the official answer from NIA as cited in What is the logic behind the timer of the Sojourner Badge? (and posted here), but this has been tested IRL.

Observations: I have, on two occasions, made a hack on Friday afternoon at 3-4pm, and the next hack on Saturday evening at 8-9pm. In both cases, I've kept my current hacking streak alive.

My theory: The interval you need to hack in depends on when you made your first hack in the current streak (and not your latest hack, as NIA states). For me, my first hack in this streak was at 6 am. This means that I had to make a hack between Friday 6 am - Saturday 5.59 am, and the next one between Saturday 6am - Sunday 5.59 am. As long as I make at least one hack during each period, I will keep the hacking streak alive. The fact that the particular Friday hacks were at 3-4 pm is irrelevant, they could have been made at 7 am or 2 pm as well.

This theory also fits with the experience people here and IRL have had, that the time their current hacking streak increases (or Sojourner badge is awarded) is different for everyone. For me, this happens early in the morning, likely at around 6 am.

Solution 2:

Kei Kawai, a Niantic Labs Product Management Director, recently gave an interview (translated into English here) in which he said:

Q: Sojourner isn’t counted once every 24 hours?

A: No, it isn’t. There were people who felt it would be a shame to cut off the counter at exactly 24 hours, so we left a bit of wiggle room. I cannot give you the details, but it is definitely not counted in periods of 24 hours. You do have a little room to play with. (Actually it is quite a lot… I can’t say a little).

This strongly supports HenricF's answer.

(Aside: the interview also debunks a whole load of myths about Ingress and gives the first explanation of stickiness of portal mods that I've seen. It's definitely worth a read if you're an Ingress player).