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EXIF and file metadata vs a timestamp. A date in a photo’s tags is a claim stored in the file. It can be edited. A timestamp dates the exact bytes you hashed.

Q: How can I look at a file’s metadata without uploading it?

Use the free TimeBinder file date and metadata inspector. It reads what the file contains in your browser. It does not prove those dates are true.

TimeBinder adds a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes.

A TimeBind is a dated, checkable record that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches. The fingerprint is made in the browser, and the file stays on your device. Your first Pooled TimeBind is free; after that, TimeBinds start from US$5, and an ASAP TimeBind is US$15.

EXIF and file metadata vs a timestamp: the short answer

EXIF is a standard way for a camera or phone to write tags — including a “date taken” — into an image file. The official specification is CIPA DC-008. File-system dates (created, modified, accessed) are written by the computer that stores the file. Both are useful clues. Neither is an independent record: the tags live in the file or on the device, and software can change or strip them. NIST’s forensic guidance treats file times as evidence to collect and interpret, not as a clock that cannot be wrong.

A TimeBind answers a narrower question: that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches its fingerprint. It does not prove when a shutter fired, and it does not prove that the picture is genuine or human-made. Keep originals, read the metadata as a clue, and TimeBind the file you actually hold if you need a date that does not depend on the file’s own tags. This is general information, not legal advice.

Metadata vs a dated file record at a glance

	EXIF / file-system dates	TimeBind
Main question answered	What date does this file (or this device) claim?	When did this exact file exist, and does a copy still match?
Where the date lives	Inside the file (EXIF, XMP and similar) or in the file system of a device or drive.	On the Bitcoin blockchain, with a certificate you keep.
Who writes it	The camera, phone, editor or operating system.	The record is anchored in a public Bitcoin block after you hash the file in your browser.
Can it be changed later?	Yes. Tags can be edited or stripped. File-system times change when a file is copied or saved.	The on-chain record is not rewritten. An edited file no longer matches the fingerprint.
Survives export or upload?	Often stripped by social networks, messengers or “save for web” exports.	Unaffected, but only the exact original bytes will match.
Shows who took the photo?	Sometimes a camera model, software or GPS tag is present. Those can be edited too.	No.
Cost	Already in the file, if the device wrote it.	First Pooled TimeBind free; then from US$5, or US$15 for ASAP.

Sources: the CIPA Exif specification (DC-008); NIST SP 800-86 on collecting digital evidence, including file times. Terms: EXIF, metadata, file-system timestamps, GPS metadata, timestamp. Tools: file date and metadata inspector (it reads what a file contains; it does not prove the dates are true); photo metadata remover.

When to use which

Use EXIF and file dates as clues

You still have the original camera or phone file, not a screenshot or a re-saved download
You want camera, lens or GPS tags as context, and you treat them as editable
You are comparing several copies and looking for inconsistencies

Use a dated file record

You need a date that does not depend on the file’s own tags or a computer clock
You expect the file to be uploaded, exported or sent, which often strips metadata
You want to check later that a copy is still the exact same bytes

They work well together. Keep the original, glance at the metadata, and TimeBind the file you actually hold. Content Credentials (C2PA), where a camera or editor supports them, are a third kind of record — a signed manifest, not the same as EXIF. See C2PA vs a timestamp.

What a TimeBind shows, and what it doesn’t

What it shows

That an exact file existed no later than the recorded time
That a later copy still matches, bit for bit, if the fingerprint is the same

What it doesn’t show

Who made the file, who owns it, or who holds the copyright
That the contents are true, original, or human-made
Whether AI was used, or how a court, platform or insurer will treat the record

The SHA-256 fingerprint is made in your browser. The file is never uploaded. The record is anchored to Bitcoin. This is general information, not legal advice.

Your file’s fingerprint, anchored to a global network secured by real electricity and cryptography.

Editing a file—including with AI—changes its fingerprint, not its existing network record.

How this works

Your file’s SHA-256 fingerprint, a short code worked out from its exact contents, is made in your browser, and the file itself stays on your device. A cryptographic commitment to that fingerprint, which may be combined with others, is then anchored in a block on the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin is secured by proof of work: computers around the world spend real electricity to add each block, and changing an earlier block would mean redoing that work faster than the rest of the network. Until that block is confirmed, your proof is pending. Once the Bitcoin anchoring is confirmed, you can verify the proof against that recorded commitment. The confirmed record can then be checked; Pooled TimeBinds are checked through TimeBinder, while ASAP TimeBinds can also be checked independently. If you check the file later and its fingerprint still matches, that shows the file existed no later than the recorded time. The record doesn’t show who made the file, whether AI was used, or that its contents are true.

Your filestays on your device
FingerprintSHA-256
Network timestampon Bitcoin

Frequently asked questions

Can EXIF data be faked or edited?

Yes. EXIF tags such as DateTimeOriginal are ordinary fields written into the file by a camera, phone or editor. Editing software can change or strip them. A date in metadata is a claim stored in the file, not an independent record of when the file existed.

Is “Date created” on my computer more reliable?

Not by itself. File-system times (created, modified, accessed) are written by the operating system and can change when a file is copied, exported or edited. See date created vs date modified vs date taken and the glossary entries for file-system timestamps and EXIF.

What if the EXIF date and a timestamp disagree?

Treat them as different kinds of record. The EXIF date is a tag in the file. A TimeBind shows that the exact bytes you hashed existed no later than the recorded time. If the file was edited after the photograph was taken, the TimeBind dates the edited file, not the moment the shutter fired.

Does a timestamp prove a photo is not AI-generated?

No. An AI-generated or edited file can be timestamped on the day it was saved. A TimeBind does not detect AI, read Content Credentials, or verify a watermark. See C2PA vs SynthID vs a dated file record.

How can I look at a file’s metadata without uploading it?

Use the free file date and metadata inspector. It reads what the file contains in your browser. It does not prove those dates are true.

Related comparisons

Date the file, not only the tags inside it

Make a TimeBind of the original. The fingerprint is made in your browser, and the file stays on your device.

Make your first TimeBind free → See plans and pricing

Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, TimeBinds start from US$5, and an ASAP TimeBind is US$15. Your browser makes the fingerprint and the file stays on your device. A TimeBind shows a file existed no later than the recorded time. It doesn’t show who made it.

Open TimeBinder and timestamp a file

Fingerprint the file in your browser. The file stays on your device. Your first Pooled TimeBind is free; then from US$5, or US$15 for ASAP.

See plans and pricing

Related glossary entries: XMP metadata, IPTC photo metadata and sidecar file.