How to prove when a photo was takenEXIF Date Taken is a clue, not proof

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

The file stays on your device. Your browser makes a digital fingerprint of the file. TimeBinder records the fingerprint and the time, not the file.

Short answer

EXIF Date Taken is what the camera or later software wrote into the file. It can be edited with free tools, so it is not proof on its own. Cross-check file dates, earlier copies, and camera or cloud logs. A dated record of the original file shows that exact photo existed no later than the recorded time.

What the dates in a photo actually show

A photo file often carries several dates: Date Taken in the EXIF block, and created or modified times in the file system. They are useful clues. They are also metadata: values written by a camera, phone, editor or operating system, and they can be changed or stripped with free tools. See EXIF and file metadata vs a timestamp.

To inspect the fields without uploading the file, use the file date and metadata inspector. For a longer walk-through of copies, emails and camera logs, see how to verify when a photo was taken.

What helps, and what a TimeBind adds

Keep the original file, not a screenshot or a copy sent through a messaging app that re-encodes images.
Compare Date Taken with created and modified dates, and with any earlier copy you emailed or uploaded.
A TimeBind records a SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact file and a time. It shows that this file existed no later than that time and still matches. It does not show when the shutter was pressed, who took the photo, or that the image is genuine or human-made.

Make a TimeBind: first one free →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. An ASAP TimeBind is US$15.

Frequently asked questions

Can EXIF data be faked?

Yes. Date Taken and other EXIF fields can be edited or removed with free tools. Treat them as a claim the file makes about itself, not as independent proof.

If Date Taken, created and modified all agree, is that proof?

It is consistent, which can be useful, but all three can still be set by software you control. It is stronger when it matches an earlier copy sent at the time, or a log you do not control.

Does a timestamp prove when I pressed the shutter?

No. A TimeBind shows that this exact file existed no later than the recorded time. It does not show when the photograph was taken, or that the picture is a camera original.

Does a TimeBind show a photo is not AI-generated?

No. A match shows the file is the same as the one you recorded. It does not detect AI, and it does not prove the scene was real.

Sources

CIPA, DC-008 Exchangeable image file format for digital still cameras (EXIF).
NIST, SP 800-86 (file-system times can be changed and should be treated with care).

Related guides and tools

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

Record a fingerprint of the file you rely on

Add a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes: a dated, checkable record of the exact file you hold.

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.

Open TimeBinder →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. See pricing.