Ghostdrive

News · Learn · November 7, 2026

Proof of Origin in 60 seconds: show you had it first

A step-by-step guide to timestamping a file without uploading it, what the certificate shows, and what it honestly does not prove.

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You wrote a song, a paper or a script and want a record of when you had it. Proof of Origin gives you one in about a minute, and your file never leaves your device.

The 60 seconds

  1. Open [Proof of Origin](/Origin). Use the vault you already have, or make one with a passkey or 24 words.
  2. Pick your file. Your browser computes its SHA-256 fingerprint in chunks. Nothing is uploaded, whatever the size.
  3. Add details. Choose a kind (music, paper, code…) and, if you want, a public title. Leave the title empty to keep the claim anonymous.
  4. Sign. Your Ghost ID signs the claim: the fingerprint, the size and the kind.
  5. Wait for "Registered". The public log chains your claim after every earlier one and signs a checkpoint. Your browser re-checks the chain from your entry to that checkpoint before it shows the result.
  6. Download the certificate. It carries everything needed to check the claim again later, without asking us.

Where the time comes from

Checkpoints of the log are anchored on Base: one transaction carries the chain's count and head. Once your entry is anchored, its time rests on a public block, not on our server's signature. Anyone can look the block up.

What the certificate proves

That your Ghost ID signed this exact fingerprint no later than the moment the log accepted it, and in what order other people registered the same file. Change one byte of the file and the fingerprint changes, so the certificate belongs to that exact version.

What it does not prove

It does not prove authorship, ownership or copyright. Anyone can register a file they did not make. An earlier claim is strong evidence in a dispute, not its outcome, and the page says so. If a lot depends on a work, talk to a lawyer as well.

When it helps

  • Songs, demos and stems, before you send them to anyone
  • Drafts of papers and contracts, to fix the version you showed
  • Code, designs and scripts you share with partners
  • Photos and video, to fix when a file existed

Register a file → · How it works