0 items
How?
Add the exact original files for this part of the record. Keep them unchanged; a different export or edit has a different fingerprint.
Add link and screenshots
The link is recorded, not fetched or verified.
Journalism
Give the desk an original it can check.
Give the desk an original it can check. Keep the original image and the version you file. Give the desk an exact copy it can check.
Your photos and files stay on your device, so keep them.
EXAMPLE
News photo authenticity
1 Nov 2026
Authority time: 14:02 UTC · example
Bitcoin block time: 14:10 UTC · example
Last checked: 15:02 UTC · example
Bitcoin block time: 14:10 UTC · example
Last checked: 15:02 UTC · example
✓ Dated◆ Permanent
Now keep it safe: three things
- Keep your photos and files unedited. The receipt only matches the originals. Put them in an album such as “My records”.
- Save this receipt to your camera roll.
Keep the receipt file too. The image is a handy copy; checking needs the file.
- Email it to yourself.Email it to myself
Your mail app opens a draft. Attach your receipt image and receipt file. Don’t attach your photos or documents. Timevolt does not send it or know whether it was sent.
Your record, one step at a time.
Your photos and files stay on your device, so keep them.
Local preview: files are fingerprinted here. Notes and progress stay in this browser. Keep downloaded copies; browser storage is not a backup.
0 items
How?
Record the date, time, place and who you spoke to. New notes are saved separately rather than editing an old note.
How to keep notes that hold upWrite it down
By making a receipt you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. The Bitcoin record is permanent.
By making a receipt you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. The Bitcoin record is permanent.
How to keep notes that hold up
Write notes as soon as you can. Keep the original account rather than replacing it later; the venue decides what weight it gets.
- Write it down straight away, on paper or in the box on a step.
- Put the date, time and place at the top, and who you spoke to.
- Use their words where you can; separate what you saw from what you were told.
- Sign or initial a paper note, photograph it and add the photo.
- Never edit an old note. Add a new dated entry when something changes. A device save time is not independent time evidence or proof of event order.
News photo authenticity
News photo authenticity
01 · Keep the exact files
Keep the original image and a separate export of the version you file or publish. Label the assignment without editing the originals.
Records to keep: Originals
News photo authenticity
02 · Date the file’s code
Your device fingerprints the selected file or manifest. Dated follows an independent timestamp; Permanent follows Bitcoin anchoring.
An independent time, tied to the exact bytes.
News photo authenticity
03 · Keep the evidence
Give the desk the exact file and receipt for a local fingerprint comparison. Keep metadata or provenance records separately.
Keep the originals too. A changed or compressed copy has a different fingerprint.
Try a file. It stays here.
Make a test receipt on this device.
By making a receipt you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. The Bitcoin record is permanent.
or drop a file here
Real cases: why the original photos matter.
Real cases where dated records mattered. We don’t claim a time receipt would have changed the result.
Australia · 2020 story, ruling reported January 2021
Check photo dates before making news claims
A paper used agency photos to claim beachgoers broke distancing rules. The beach was closed on the date given for the photos. The press complaints body found two rule breaches over the images.
The linked source is a news report of the Press Council’s ruling.
Summarized on Oct 29, 2026
Read the report ›International · 2006
Keep original news photos before making edits
A photographer said edits to news photos only removed dust, but they had added smoke and flares. The news agency cut ties with him. It also removed all 920 of his photos from its files.
News report of an editorial and employment decision, not a court ruling.
Summarized on Oct 29, 2026
Read the report ›What courts, schemes and regulators say.
Positions below refer to the cited rule or record type, not endorsement of Timevolt. This service is not represented as an eIDAS qualified timestamp provider. A non-qualified timestamp does not receive the qualified timestamp presumption.
Federal Rules of Evidence 902(13) and 902(14)
Electronic records and data copied from files can be self-authenticated by a qualified person's certification, including by hash-value comparison, with advance notice to the other side.
Hash-matching is recognized as a way to show a copy is identical to an original. It does not mention timestamp receipts specifically, and the court still decides admissibility and weight.
Source summary as of 2026-10-28. Check the current source and applicable local rules.
Read the sourceDistrict of Maryland electronic-evidence decision, 241 F.R.D. 534 (2007)
Well-known opinion walking through the evidence rules (relevance, authentication, hearsay, best evidence) that apply to electronically stored information.
Not about photos or timestamps; shows electronic evidence must clear several separate hurdles, and a dated fingerprint helps mainly with authentication.
Source summary as of 2026-10-28. Check the current source and applicable local rules.
Read the sourceUS Copyright Office registration
Registration is a separate formal process with application, fee and deposit; the FAQ page fetched did not state a rule about third-party timestamps.
A time receipt is not a registration and does not replace one; check Copyright Office guidance and a lawyer for timing and damages questions.
Source summary as of 2026-10-28. Check the current source and applicable local rules.
Read the sourceOther ways to do this
Prices change. Check each provider’s site for current prices and service details.
Related workflows.
Proves / Doesn’t prove
Proves
A completed time receipt shows that the exact selected file existed by the independently witnessed time. You can check whether a later copy has the same bytes. It does not establish creation time, authorship, identity, event order, location or the truth of the contents.
Doesn’t prove
It does not prove who took the photo, where or when it was actually shot, that it is unedited relative to the scene, or that what it shows is true; it also cannot settle who wins a dispute.
This cannot detect edits made before dating, establish location or show that a scene is true. Metadata and content credentials serve different purposes.
These are the bounds of a completed proof. The local tester does not establish any time. The chosen court, scheme or regulator decides what to accept.
Questions, answered plainly.
Your file stays on your device. During normal receipt creation, your device sends a randomized code made from its fingerprint, plus encrypted recovery data. It doesn't send the plain fingerprint or the random value that opens the code. Keep the original file and the complete receipt for checking. Privacy Policy.
What does a time receipt for a photo actually prove?
A completed time receipt shows that the exact selected file existed by the independently witnessed time. You can check whether a later copy has the same bytes. It does not establish creation time, authorship, identity, event order, location or the truth of the contents.
Do my photos get uploaded?
Your file stays on your device. During normal receipt creation, your device sends a randomized code made from its fingerprint, plus encrypted recovery data. It doesn't send the plain fingerprint or the random value that opens the code. Keep the original file and the complete receipt for checking.
Does it prove I took the photo or when I shot it?
No. It shows the file existed by a date, not who made it, where, or exactly when it was shot. Pair it with your camera originals, notes and witnesses.
Isn't the date in the photo's metadata (EXIF) enough?
Metadata is useful but can be edited with free tools, and many apps strip it. A time receipt is dated by an outside authority, so it does not depend on the file's own claims.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerHow is this different from C2PA Content Credentials?
C2PA records capture and edit history inside the file and can be lost if the file is resaved or screenshotted. A time receipt is separate from the file and just dates its exact bytes. They work well together.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerWill a court or press regulator accept it?
Each venue decides for itself. Courts have rules for showing electronic files are authentic, and matching hash values is one recognized idea, but a time receipt is supporting evidence, not a guarantee.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerShould I receipt the RAW original or the edited version?
Ideally both: the untouched camera files at ingest, and the version you file or publish. That way you can show what existed when.
Is emailing photos to myself good enough?
It is a common workaround, but it uploads your files, depends on a mail provider's records, and is easy for the other side to challenge.
Source summary as of October 30, 2026. Check the current source and its scope.
Context for this answerThe file tester runs on your device. It does not issue a timestamp or take a payment.
Keep the records you already have.
Keep your original files and any existing official records while the receipt service is being prepared.