TimeBinder

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For authors and writers

Keep a dated draft history. Timestamp each draft as you write, to show each version existed no later than its recorded time.

Drop your drafts here Drafts, notes, outlines, final manuscript. Any file type. Opens the TimeBinder app.

Clicking takes you straight to the TimeBinder app. You add your drafts there, and at no point do they leave your computer: each file is hashed locally and nothing is uploaded or stored by TimeBinder.

Free plan: 1 Token a month (no rollover).

Free plan: $0 with 1 Token a month (no rollover; 1 Pooled TimeBind of up to 10 files, usually recorded within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity). Timestamping a draft each week? Buy Tokens as you go, or choose Essential (US$20 a month for 5 Tokens) for a set allowance. It replaces the Free plan’s monthly Token, so it is about convenience, not a lower price. Writing every day? From 13 Tokens a month, Expert (US$50 a month for 15 Tokens) costs less than the other options. Start free → · Which plan do I need? · Compare plans

Drag in your drafts, notes, and final manuscript. TimeBinder seals each one’s fingerprint to the Bitcoin blockchain — without ever uploading the files. You get a Proof of Time Certificate for each TimeBind, showing each version existed no later than its recorded time.

Your drafts never leave your computer. Each file is hashed locally, right on your own device. TimeBinder never uploads, sees or stores your writing.

How to keep a dated draft history

Short answer: timestamp your notes, outline and each draft as you write, not just the finished manuscript. TimeBinder hashes each draft on your computer and records its fingerprint on the Bitcoin blockchain, so each version is shown to have existed no later than its recorded time. Together they form a dated draft trail. It shows when each file existed, not who wrote it or whether AI was used. See how dated drafts compare with AI detectors.

That trail is what helps if you ever need to show your manuscript existed before an AI accusation, a submission or a dispute. It won’t prove you wrote it on its own. It shows when each version existed, and your drafts show how the work developed.

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.

How it works

Three calm steps, and you don’t need to know anything about Bitcoin. A Pooled TimeBind (1 Token) is usually recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity, and is checked through TimeBinder. An ASAP TimeBind (3 Tokens) is broadcast straight away in its own transaction and can be checked independently. Being broadcast straight away doesn’t mean instant confirmation.

  1. Drop your files

    Add your notes, each saved draft and your final manuscript, up to 10 files at a time. Word, Scrivener, PDF, plain text: any file works.

    notes.docx · draft-2.docx · final.pdf

  2. Hashed 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 you

  3. Sealed 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
Seal your drafts →

Why this matters now: AI accusations against authors

More and more authors are being told their writing “looks like AI”: by readers, editors, publishers, teachers and contest judges. AI detectors are unreliable and can flag writing done entirely by a person. A score from a detector is an opinion, not evidence.

When that question comes up, a polished final file can’t answer it. What helps is the story of how the work came together: notes, messy early drafts, rewrites, and a record of when each one existed. Working drafts plus timestamps give you that record.

So timestamp your drafts before any AI accusation, as part of your routine. If anyone asks, you can show the timeline instead of arguing about it. Read what to gather if your manuscript is questioned after an AI accusation and why working drafts matter more than AI detectors.

To be clear about what this shows: a timestamp shows when each version existed and that it still matches its fingerprint. It doesn’t judge who wrote it or how. Your draft history does the explaining.

What to timestamp as you write

One short step at each milestone is enough.

  • Notes, outlines and research files when you start
  • Each full draft, saved as its own file
  • Major revisions after editor or beta-reader feedback
  • The exact manuscript you send to agents, publishers or competitions
  • Submission emails and cover letters, saved as PDF
  • Your final, published version

Log your daily drafts with Draft Streak, a free tool that saves each day’s word count and file fingerprint in your browser.

What a timestamp 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 that people you share it with can check, without relying on your own computer’s clock or accounts. An ASAP TimeBind can also be checked without 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

Questions authors ask

Does TimeBinder read or store my writing?

No. Each file is hashed locally in your browser, on your own computer. Only that fingerprint is sealed. Your drafts are never uploaded or stored by TimeBinder.

Can timestamps prove I wrote it?

Not by themselves. A timestamp shows a file existed by a set time and still matches its fingerprint. A series of timestamped drafts, notes and rewrites can support your account of how you wrote the work, which is usually what matters in an AI-writing question.

How do I show my manuscript existed before an AI accusation?

Timestamp your notes and drafts as you go, before anyone asks. If a question comes up later, share the certificates with the matching files: each one can be re-checked to show it existed by its sealed date and still matches its fingerprint.

How do I show a document existed before I submitted it?

TimeBind the exact file before you send it, and keep that file unchanged. Later, people you share the certificate with can re-check the file to confirm it existed no later than the recorded time. An ASAP TimeBind can be checked directly against the Bitcoin blockchain. A Pooled TimeBind is checked through TimeBinder.

Which files should I seal?

Anything that shows your work taking shape: notes, outlines, each major draft and the final manuscript. Keep the original files unchanged afterwards, because even a re-save can change a file’s fingerprint.

Is this better than emailing drafts to myself?

It doesn’t depend on your email provider. An email’s date depends on your provider’s records. A TimeBind is recorded on the public Bitcoin blockchain and can be checked without trusting anyone’s mail server. An ASAP TimeBind can also be checked without TimeBinder. See emailing yourself vs a blockchain timestamp.

Submitting soon? See how to timestamp your manuscript before submission.

More for writers

Open TimeBinder and seal your first draft

Here’s what you’ll do next:

  1. Open the app and sign in with email or Google.
  2. Add your drafts, notes and manuscript. They stay on your computer.
  3. Seal them and download your Proof of Time Certificates.
Open TimeBinder →
Your drafts stay privateEvery file is hashed locally on your own computer. Your drafts are never uploaded or stored by TimeBinder; only a fingerprint is sealed to Bitcoin.

Free plan: 1 Token a month (no rollover). No credit card required. See pricing