diff --git a/common/lib/dependabot/command_helpers.rb b/common/lib/dependabot/command_helpers.rb
index ecb5d71cdc..f10aeff67b 100644
--- a/common/lib/dependabot/command_helpers.rb
+++ b/common/lib/dependabot/command_helpers.rb
@@ -133,7 +133,9 @@ def self.capture3_with_timeout(
               data = data.encode("UTF-8", invalid: :replace, undef: :replace, replace: "?")
 
               # Reset the timeout if data is received
-              last_output_time = Time.now if data
+              last_output_time = Time.now unless data.empty?
+
+              # 4. Append data to the appropriate stream
               if io == stdout_io
                 stdout += data
               else