What is a timestamp authorityA trusted third party that signs a file’s fingerprint together with a time

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

A timestamp authority is a trusted third party that signs the fingerprint of your data together with a time, so you can later show the data existed then. The common protocol is RFC 3161. You rely on trusting that organisation and its keys, unlike systems that anchor to a public blockchain.

How it works

You send the hash of a file, not the file, to the authority. It returns a signed timestamp token that binds the hash to a time. The format is defined in RFC 3161. Anyone can later check the signature against the authority’s certificate. See the glossary entries for timestamp authority and trusted timestamp.

Some authorities are accredited, for example as qualified providers under EU rules, which can matter for legal weight in some places. Rules differ by country, so ask a lawyer.

How a TimeBind differs

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. It does not use a single authority, and a TimeBind is not an RFC 3161 token or a qualified electronic timestamp. See hash timestamp vs notarisation and is a timestamp legal proof.

Either approach shows a file existed by a time. Neither shows who made it or that it is true.

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

Is a timestamp authority the same as a notary?

No. It signs a hash and a time. A notary verifies people and documents under legal rules.

Does a timestamp authority see my file?

Not if you send only the hash, which is how RFC 3161 works.

Is a TimeBind a qualified timestamp?

No. TimeBinder does not claim that status. A TimeBind anchors a fingerprint to Bitcoin.

What if the authority’s key is compromised?

Trust in its tokens depends on its keys and practices, which is the main trade-off versus public anchoring.

Sources

IETF, RFC 3161: Time-Stamp Protocol.
TimeBinder, Hash timestamp vs notarisation.

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.