How to prove I wrote something firstDate the exact file and keep your drafts; priority is a question for the facts

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

Keep dated drafts and the original file, then record the date of the exact version in a way others can check. Posting online, emailing yourself or file dates are each weak on their own. A TimeBind shows when a file existed. It does not show who wrote it.

Why the usual shortcuts are weak

Being first matters in disputes about ideas, scripts, articles, designs and code. Common shortcuts are easy to challenge: a file’s modified date can be edited, an email to yourself can be backdated or reconstructed, and a post online shows when it was posted, not when you finished writing. See does posting online prove you made it first?

What helps is a pattern: version history, drafts, notes, messages that mention the work at the time, and at least one dated record that does not depend on you or on a platform you control.

Adding an independent date

A TimeBind records a SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact file and a time, anchored to Bitcoin. The fingerprint is made in your browser and the file is not uploaded. The record shows the exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches. Record a new TimeBind when you finish a significant version.

It does not decide who wrote the work or who owns it, and it is not legal advice. For a real dispute, talk to a qualified professional in your country.

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

Does emailing myself prove I wrote something first?

Not reliably. Email dates can be disputed and messages can be recreated. It can be one piece of supporting evidence among several.

Does a timestamp prove I am the author?

No. It shows that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time. Authorship depends on all the evidence, including drafts and how the work was made.

What if I edit the document later?

Any change makes a different file with a different fingerprint. Record each version you want to be able to date.

Is the document uploaded to TimeBinder?

No. Your browser makes the fingerprint and TimeBinder records the fingerprint and time, not the file.

Sources

TimeBinder, Does posting online prove you made it first?.
TimeBinder, How to prove copyright ownership without registration.

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.