How blockchain timestamping works at TimeBinder

How blockchain timestamping works, step by step

1. Drop in your files

Open the TimeBinder app and add up to 10 files to one TimeBind. They can be contracts, drafts, photos, audio, code or anything else. There is no limit on file size or type; the only constraint is your device’s processing power.

2. Your device calculates each file’s fingerprint

Your browser works out a SHA-256 fingerprint for each file. That fingerprint is a short code calculated from the file’s exact contents. Change one character or pixel and you get a completely different code. Nobody can rebuild your file from the fingerprint. Your files stay on your device, and TimeBinder never stores them.

3. Choose Pooled or ASAP

This is the one real decision, so here it is in plain terms:

• Pooled (1 Token). Your fingerprints are grouped with other users’ into one shared Bitcoin entry, usually within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity. It’s the cheaper option, and it’s what the Free plan’s 1 Token a month covers. Checking it later goes through TimeBinder, which supplies the proof linking your file to the shared entry.
• ASAP (3 Tokens). Your fingerprints go into their own Bitcoin transaction, broadcast straight away. Confirmation still depends on the Bitcoin network, so straight away doesn’t mean confirmed straight away. The certificate holds what’s needed to check it independently, using the transaction ID and the public Bitcoin blockchain.

Our full Pooled vs ASAP explainer covers the technical detail.

4. Get your Proof of Time Certificate

When the TimeBind completes, you get a Proof of Time Certificate (a PDF) and a verifiable proof file. Keep them with the original files. You need the exact original file to check it later. A re-saved or edited copy has a different fingerprint, so it won’t match.

5. Check it whenever you need to

Scan the QR code on the certificate, use its verifier link, or open the verifier in the app. Drop in the file and your browser recalculates its fingerprint locally. The result is either Verified or Verification Failed. Checking is always free. You choose who can check a TimeBind: anyone with the QR code, or only email addresses you pick.

What the certificate shows

Here is a sample Proof of Time Certificate. Yours shows your own file names, fingerprints and recorded time.

On the Proof of Time Certificate:

• the exact time anchored on the Bitcoin blockchain
• the Bitcoin transaction reference (TXID)
• the TimeBind bundle’s Merkle root, which represents up to 10 file hashes plus any optional reference and detail fields you add
• a QR code and verifier link for checking it

When you check a file and it matches, the verifier shows the timestamp and confirmation depth, the anchor transaction (TXID) and a shareable verifier link you can include with other evidence.

If it doesn’t match, the result is Verification Failed. Usually that means the file was changed or re-saved after it was timestamped. A failed result doesn’t suggest anyone acted dishonestly. It only means this isn’t the file that was sealed.

Which time is the one that counts?

TimeBinder logs several moments: when the fingerprint is submitted to TimeBinder, when it’s sent to the Bitcoin network, when the transaction is mined into a block, and when it has at least 6 confirmations. The one that can be checked cryptographically is the block time. Your file existed no later than that moment. For Pooled, it’s the block time of the shared batch. That’s usually within 24 to 48 hours of submitting (often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity), so it can be noticeably later than when you pressed the button.

Pooled, ASAP and the everyday alternative

Email wins on cost, speed and familiarity, and it records a sender. A TimeBind adds a record of the exact file that doesn’t depend on a mailbox you control, and the file stays private. We compare the two in more detail in emailing yourself as proof.

When TimeBinder isn’t the right tool

• You need to show who someone is, or who signed. A timestamp says nothing about identity. A witness, a Justice of the Peace or an e-signature service does that job. See JP certified copy vs a timestamp and DocuSign certificate of completion vs a timestamp.
• You need a standards-based trusted timestamp inside a signed PDF or a regulated workflow. That’s usually RFC 3161. See RFC 3161 vs a blockchain timestamp.
• You’re comfortable with command-line tools and want a free, open-source option. OpenTimestamps may suit you better. See TimeBinder vs OpenTimestamps.
• You won’t keep the exact original file. A TimeBind is checked against the file itself, so if the original is lost or re-saved, the certificate can’t be matched.
• You need a registration or a legal right, such as a trade mark, patent or registered copyright. A timestamp isn’t a registration. See copyright registration vs a timestamp.

Try the fingerprint before you sign up

You can see a file’s SHA-256 fingerprint in your browser with our free SHA-256 file hash checker. Change the file and the code changes. That’s the same check the verifier runs later.