Stale data check is triggered incorrectly across locales

[Robot-Inventor]

Describe the Bug

In projects with experimental.localizeStatus: true set in payload.config.ts, when editing a collection that has localized fields and versions.drafts.localizeStatus: true, my own edits are mistakenly detected as edits by another user. This triggers the "Document modified" and "This document was recently updated by another user. Your view is out of date." messages.

Link to the code that reproduces this issue

https://github.com/Robot-Inventor/payload-stale-issue-with-localization

Reproduction Steps

1. Clone the repository.
2. Install dependencies and set environment variables such as the database URI.
3. Build the project and start the server.
4. Create a document with the default locale (en) and publish it in that locale.
5. Switch to a non-default locale (ja), edit the document, and wait for it to auto-save.
6. Continue editing the document after auto-save is complete.
7. The "Document modified" message is incorrectly displayed, despite the edits being made by yourself.

2026-03-02.174736_comp.mp4

Which area(s) are affected?

Not sure

Environment Info

Binaries:
  Node: 25.6.0
  npm: 11.10.0
  Yarn: 1.22.22
  pnpm: 10.28.0
Relevant Packages:
  payload: 3.78.0
  next: 15.4.11
  @payloadcms/db-postgres: 3.78.0
  @payloadcms/drizzle: 3.78.0
  @payloadcms/graphql: 3.78.0
  @payloadcms/next/utilities: 3.78.0
  @payloadcms/richtext-lexical: 3.78.0
  @payloadcms/translations: 3.78.0
  @payloadcms/ui/shared: 3.78.0
  react: 19.2.1
  react-dom: 19.2.1
Operating System:
  Platform: linux
  Arch: x64
  Version: #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu Jun  5 18:30:46 UTC 2025
  Available memory (MB): 48095
  Available CPU cores: 32

[PatrikKozak]

Hey @Robot-Inventor - thank you for bringing this to my attention! I'm currently looking into this and will have a fix out for this asap!

[TimLanzi]

I'm getting this as well. Though I am not using locales. When I updated from 3.76.1 -> 3.87.0, whenever I try to edit any document with drafts, I get this message.

[PatrikKozak]

@TimLanzi Does you collection / global config have autosave enabled on it?

[TimLanzi]

@PatrikKozak yes, all collections where this happens have autosave enabled