Terms and conditions version history: keep a dated record of each change

Disclosure: I’m Inna Hall, co-founder of TimeBinder, the file timestamping tool this guide mentions. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Why keep a version history at all

Most disagreements about terms aren’t about whether a policy exists. They’re about which version applied on a given day. A customer says the refund window was 30 days when they bought. A client says the price rise wasn’t in the terms when they signed up. Your website only shows today’s version, and a content management system’s revision history can be edited, lost in a migration, or hard to export.

A dated copy of each version, kept outside your website, gives you a fixed point to check against.

How to keep a terms and conditions version history

1. List the documents that matter. Usually your terms and conditions, privacy policy, refund or returns policy, shipping policy, price list and any sign-up or checkout wording.
2. Save each one as a file when it changes. Keep the source document (for example the Word or Markdown file), and save the published page as a PDF from your browser.
3. Name files with the version and date. For example terms-v7-2026-11-01.pdf and terms-v7-2026-11-01.docx.
4. Make a TimeBind before or as the change goes live. Drag up to 10 files into TimeBinder. Each file is hashed in your browser and never uploaded. Only the fingerprints are recorded.
5. Store the exact files with the certificate. A file matches its fingerprint only if every byte is the same, so don’t re-save or re-export the copy you recorded.
6. Keep a simple change log. One line per version: date, what changed, and the file names.
7. Keep your own acceptance records. Order confirmations, sign-up logs or checkbox records show which customer accepted what. A timestamp doesn’t do that part.

What to put in each record

File	Why it’s useful
Source document (Word, Google Doc export or Markdown)	The wording you approved
Published page saved as PDF	How it looked on the site
Privacy, refund and shipping policies	They often change at the same time as the terms
Price list or plan page saved as PDF	Prices and inclusions at that date
Change log	What changed and why

Up to 10 files fit in one TimeBind, so a full set of policies for one change usually needs only one.

A timestamp, your own records and a web archive

These do different jobs, and they work well together:

• Your own TimeBinds show which file versions existed no later than a recorded time.
• Your own site and order records show what was published and what each customer accepted.
• A public web archive may show what a page looked like when it was captured, if it was captured. See the Wayback Machine as proof for its limits, and cloud version history as proof for what document tools record.

For other business records worth dating, such as quotes, supplier agreements and condition photos, see the small business timestamping guide.

Pooled or ASAP?

• Pooled (1 Token): Your fingerprint is grouped with other users’ in one shared Bitcoin entry, usually recorded within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity. It’s checked through TimeBinder.
• ASAP (3 Tokens): It gets its own Bitcoin transaction, sent straight away, and can be checked independently, without relying on TimeBinder.

For routine policy updates, Pooled is usually enough if you record the new version a day or two before it goes live. If a change goes live today, or you want a record that can be checked without TimeBinder, use ASAP. It’s broadcast straight away, although that doesn’t mean instant confirmation. The Pooled vs ASAP explainer covers the difference, and how it works explains fingerprints and certificates.

What a TimeBind does NOT do

• It doesn’t show who wrote the terms, or who owns them.
• It doesn’t show the contents are true or accurate, or whether AI was used.
• It doesn’t show a version was published, or that anyone saw or agreed to it.
• A Pooled TimeBind can’t be checked without TimeBinder.
• It can’t say how a court, tribunal, customer or anyone else will treat it.

This is general information, not legal advice. Whether changed terms apply to a customer depends on the law where you trade. For advice about your situation, speak to a lawyer in your country.

When TimeBinder isn’t the right tool

• You need to know whether a change is allowed or binds customers. That’s a legal question for a lawyer.
• You need a record of who accepted which version. Use your checkout, sign-up or e-signature records.
• You change your site wording many times a day. A version-controlled repository or a dedicated policy-management tool may suit you better, with a TimeBind for major versions only.
• You need a signature or identity check. A timestamp isn’t one.

TimeBinder pricing

• Free: $0. 1 Token every month (1 Pooled TimeBind). No credit card required. The Free plan’s monthly Token doesn’t roll over.
• Essential: $20 a month for 5 Tokens (5 Pooled, or 1 ASAP + 2 Pooled). Unused Tokens roll over. Cancel any time.
• Expert: $50 a month for 15 Tokens (15 Pooled, 5 ASAP, or a mix).
• Business: $149 a month for 60 Tokens. Business Plus: $299 a month for 150 Tokens. Both are billed by monthly invoice. API access is included in the Business, Business Plus and Enterprise plans.
• Extra Tokens: 1 for $5, 3 for $15 or 9 for $40. Tokens you buy never expire.

A paid plan replaces the Free plan’s monthly Token, so Essential gives you 5 Tokens a month in total, not 6.

Enterprise plans have custom Token limits and dedicated support. Service terms for every plan are set out in the TimeBinder Terms and Conditions. If you update your policies once a month or less, the Free plan’s monthly Pooled TimeBind may cover it. Which plan do I need shows when a paid plan costs less than buying Tokens.

TimeBind your files

For your next policy update, start with a Pooled TimeBind: the Free plan includes 1 Token a month, and no credit card is required. See plans and pricing →