How can I execute something just once per application start?

I'd like to implement an update checker in an application, and I obviously only need this to show up once when you start the application. If I do the call in the onCreate() or onStart() method, it'll be shown every time the activity is created and this is not a viable solution.

So my question is: Is there a way to do something, like check for updates, just once per application start / launch?

I'm sorry if it's a bit hard to understand, I'm having difficulties explaning myself on this one.