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Content Credentials (C2PA) vs a timestamp. One describes a file’s history. The other shows when an exact file existed.
Clicking opens the TimeBinder app. Files are hashed locally on your computer; nothing is uploaded or stored by TimeBinder.
Content Credentials and file timestamps both come up whenever people ask how to show that a photo, video or design is genuine. They answer different questions. Knowing the difference helps you decide which records to keep.
Your files never leave your computer. With TimeBinder, each file is hashed locally on your own device. Nothing is uploaded or stored by TimeBinder.
What is the difference between Content Credentials and a timestamp?
Short answer: a Content Credential describes a file’s history: which device or app made it and what was done to it, signed by whoever made the claim. A timestamp shows when an exact file existed, recorded independently. They work well together.
Neither one, on its own, proves who made a file.
What is TimeBinder? TimeBinder is a blockchain timestamping service. It shows that a digital file existed no later than a specific time, and that it still matches its fingerprint, by anchoring the file’s SHA-256 fingerprint to the Bitcoin blockchain. Files are hashed in your browser and never uploaded, and each TimeBind comes with a Proof of Time Certificate that can be checked later. It does not prove who created a file or that its contents are true.
What Content Credentials (C2PA) are
Content Credentials are built on an open standard from the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), whose members include Adobe, Microsoft, Google, camera makers and news organisations. A growing number of cameras, phones and editing apps can attach a manifest to a file. The manifest lists assertions such as the capture device, edits made, ingredients used and whether generative AI was involved, and it is digitally signed with the signer’s certificate.
Viewers such as the Content Credentials inspect tool can read the manifest and show whether the signature is valid and whether the file has changed since it was signed.
Where Content Credentials are strong, and where they stop
- Strong on history. A valid manifest from a trusted signer is good evidence of which device or software produced the file and what edits were declared.
- The time comes from the signer. Capture and edit times inside the manifest come from the device or app clock. The specification recommends a time-stamp from a Time Stamping Authority on the signature, but not every tool adds one.
- Credentials are easy to lose. Many platforms strip embedded metadata on upload, and screenshots or re-exports without credential support drop it too. A file with no credential isn’t proof of anything.
- Coverage is limited to supported tools and formats. Your DAW project, manuscript, CAD model or notebook almost certainly has no credential.
- Signed by whoever made the claim. A credential shows who signed it and what they asserted. It isn’t a statement by an independent party about when the file existed.
What a timestamp adds
A timestamp such as a TimeBind records the SHA-256 fingerprint of an exact file on the Bitcoin blockchain. Anyone can later check that this exact file existed no later than that time and still matches its fingerprint. It works for any file type, it doesn’t depend on the file keeping its metadata, and with TimeBinder the file is hashed in your browser and never uploaded.
What it doesn’t do: it doesn’t travel inside the file, it doesn’t describe how the file was made, and it doesn’t show who made it.
Content Credentials vs a TimeBinder timestamp
| Content Credentials (C2PA) | TimeBinder timestamp | |
|---|---|---|
| Main question answered | Where did this file come from and how was it edited? | When did this exact file exist? |
| Where the record lives | Inside the file (or linked from it) | On the Bitcoin blockchain, with a certificate you keep |
| Source of the date | The signing device or app (optionally a TSA time-stamp) | The block the fingerprint was recorded in |
| Survives upload to social media? | Often stripped | Unaffected, but only matches the exact original bytes |
| File types | Images, video, audio and some documents in supported tools | Any file |
| Shows AI use? | Can declare it, if the tool records it | No |
| Cost to you | Free in supported tools | Free plan: 1 Token a month; paid plans from US$20/month |
A routine that uses both
- Turn on Content Credentials in your camera or editing app if it supports them.
- TimeBind the originals as they come off the camera or out of the first app, before any editing.
- When you export the final version to share, keep the exported file and TimeBind it too, because adding or updating a credential changes the file’s bytes.
- Keep the originals, the exports and the Proof of Time Certificates together. If someone questions the image, you can show the credential history and an independent record of when each version existed. For a newsroom version of this routine, see timestamping article drafts and photo originals.
How to timestamp a file with TimeBinder
Three steps. Submitting takes a few minutes; a Pooled TimeBind is usually recorded within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity, and ASAP is faster.
Drop your files
Add up to 10 files per TimeBind. Any file type and size works.
IMG_2041.CR3 · export-final.jpgHashed on your computer
Your browser works out a unique SHA-256 fingerprint for each file. Nothing is uploaded. The files never leave your device and TimeBinder never stores them.
fingerprint 9f2c…41ab · file stays with youSealed to Bitcoin
The fingerprints are anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain: ASAP (your own transaction, sent straight away) or Pooled (usually recorded within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity). You get a Proof of Time Certificate, a PDF with a QR code and the Bitcoin transaction ID.
✓ sealed · certificate ready
What a TimeBind shows, and what it doesn’t
What it shows
- That this exact file existed no later than the time recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain
- That a file shown later still matches its fingerprint: the same file gives the same fingerprint, and any edit gives a different one
- A record kept outside your own systems: an ASAP TimeBind can be checked on the Bitcoin blockchain without relying on TimeBinder, and a Pooled TimeBind is verified through TimeBinder
What it doesn’t show
- Who created, wrote or signed the file
- That the contents are true or accurate
- How a court or other decision-maker will treat it: that depends on the jurisdiction and the rules that apply. It isn’t legal advice
Frequently asked questions
What are Content Credentials?
Content Credentials are the consumer name for the C2PA standard. A camera, phone or editing app attaches a signed record (a manifest) to an image, video, audio or document file, describing where it came from, what tools edited it, whether AI was used and who signed the record.
Does a Content Credential prove when a photo was taken?
Not on its own. The capture or edit time inside the manifest comes from the device or app that wrote it. The C2PA specification recommends adding a time-stamp from a Time Stamping Authority to the signature, which shows the signed record existed by that time, but whether one is present depends on the tool that signed it.
Why does my image lose its Content Credentials when I post it?
Many websites and social platforms re-encode uploads and strip embedded metadata, which removes the manifest. Some platforms keep or display credentials, and the standard has ways to recover them, but a missing credential tells you nothing either way.
Should I timestamp the file before or after Content Credentials are added?
Both versions if they matter. Adding or updating a credential changes the file’s bytes, so a timestamp only matches the exact version it was made from. Timestamp the original from the camera, and the exported file you actually share.
Does TimeBinder show whether an image was AI-generated?
No. A TimeBind shows that an exact file existed no later than a certain time and still matches its fingerprint. It says nothing about how the file was made.
Open TimeBinder and timestamp your originals
Here’s what you’ll do next:
- Open the app and sign in with email or Google.
- Add your files. They stay on your computer.
- Seal them and download your Proof of Time certificates.
Start free: your first Pooled TimeBind each month costs nothing. See pricing