Should I timestamp before or after posting?

Before. A timestamp after posting only shows the file existed at that later time.

Web-sized JPEGs or full masters?

Prefer the masters you archive. You can add web exports in the same TimeBind if you want.

Can a whole portfolio go in one zip?

Yes. Keep that exact zip; updating the portfolio means a new zip and a new TimeBind.

Is this the same as Content Credentials?

No. Content Credentials travel with some files; a TimeBind dates a fingerprint on Bitcoin. See Content Credentials vs a timestamp.

Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, from US$5; ASAP is US$15. See plans and pricing

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Illustrators: timestamp portfolio work before you post it online

Inna Hall

November 10, 2026

November 12, 2026

Guides

Flat illustration of a paint palette, a framed artwork and a signed licensing agreement, with a teal timestamp badge

Before you post portfolio illustrations online, timestamp the master files. TimeBinder^® makes a fingerprint in your browser. The files stay on your device. You get a checkable Proof of Time Certificate that shows each exact file existed no later than a recorded time. It does not show who illustrated it, who owns it, or that a site must take a repost down. If you need to file a takedown, see DMCA takedown evidence for your artwork. Free to start. For the broader illustrator overview, see timestamping for illustrators.

The routine: timestamp before you post
Why “I posted it on Instagram” is thin on its own
Client work in the portfolio
What a TimeBind shows, and what it doesn’t
Frequently Asked Questions

The routine: timestamp before you post

Pick the masters you will show (full-resolution PNG, TIFF, or PDF), not only the compressed web crop.
Optional. Confirm hashes with the free SHA-256 hash checker.
Timestamp up to 10 pieces per TimeBind, or zip a series and timestamp the zip. Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required.
Save the Proof of Time Certificate with the masters.
Then post to your site, Behance, Instagram or newsletter.
Crops and colour grades for the feed are extra files if you may need to date them separately.

How to timestamp a file has the steps. Procreate users: see prove a Procreate illustration existed before a date.

Why “I posted it on Instagram” is thin on its own

Platform dates can help, but accounts get locked, posts vanish and downloads re-encode the image. Password and account security for creators covers how to reduce the chance of a hijack. A fingerprint of your master, made before you post, still matches months later if you kept the file. Posting is not proof of authorship. See does posting online prove you made it first?. Posting also puts the work where training crawlers can find it. Our guide to Glaze, Nightshade and AI opt-outs sets out what those tools do and do not do, and what a dated record of your originals adds.

Client work in the portfolio

If the piece was for a client, check your contract before posting, and still timestamp the portfolio master you keep. For unpaid-use situations, see client used your design without paying.

What a TimeBind shows, and what it doesn’t

A TimeBind shows that this exact file existed no later than the recorded time. It does not show authorship, ownership or copyright, and it does not stop tracing or reposts. Keep process files and contracts too. 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

Should I timestamp before or after posting?

Before. A timestamp after posting only shows the file existed at that later time.
Web-sized JPEGs or full masters?

Prefer the masters you archive. You can add web exports in the same TimeBind if you want.
Can a whole portfolio go in one zip?

Yes. Keep that exact zip; updating the portfolio means a new zip and a new TimeBind.
Is this the same as Content Credentials?

No. Content Credentials travel with some files; a TimeBind dates a fingerprint on Bitcoin. See Content Credentials vs a timestamp.
What does it cost?

Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, from US$5; ASAP is US$15. See plans and pricing

More guides for designers and illustrators are grouped on the timestamping page for designers and architects.

Timestamp your portfolio masters free

Show that this exact file existed no later than a recorded time. Files stay on your device. Get a checkable Proof of Time Certificate. Free to start. Open TimeBinder

Inna Hall

Inna Hall is an Australian lawyer admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia in 2013. She has worked across government and private legal practice and is the director of TimeBinder, focusing on document authenticity, evidentiary risk, and blockchain-based proof of existence.