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Once your content is timestamped, you might want to let your visitors know, and optionally show them how they can verify the timestamp. This is where the timestamp certificate comes in. You can add a link or badge to the certificate where you think it fits best.
For example, as a text link in the meta information, above or below your content.
If the visitor clicks on it, the timestamp certificate pops up. In this video we explore the timestamps certificate and how verification of your content works.
The certificate
Here you see the certificate which can be used on all devices.. The first green dot indicates that the content has been timestamped. And that it hasn’t been changed since the most recent timestamp on the blockchain.
As over 80% all internet users support education on misinformation, a brief explanation is visible about what a timestamp entails and how they can use it.
The second section leads you to the verification part. Site owners can choose if they want to show previous versions of the content, like. a time machine for your content. This is not mandatory, but it offers a great amount of transparency.
Here you see how a visitor can scroll through revisions of this content and compare them. The certificate marks the difference between both revisions. What’s been added is marked green, what’s been deleted is marked red.
Here you can verify your timestamp.
Verify a timestamp
As we’ve learned in video on hashing:
- there’s an input
- and the output, your fingerprint/hash
- This hash is timestamped on the blockchain, which you’ll check
In this part of the certificate, you find everything needed to verify whether the content shown matches the hash at the time of the timestamp. Because of this, you (as a website owner) can proof that you published certain content at a certain time. Website visitors can verify that you didn’t change the content after this time.
Is manual verification by your visitors needed? And will they do it? That’s not the right question. The power is in this: “If they want to, they CAN”.
Being able to proving your integrity by showing transparency is a powerful thing in this era of misinformation and online fraud. With timestamps in place, people, search engines and social media platforms don’t need to trust you, they have a way to verify if you handle with integrity via the Timestamp Certificates of your content. Consumers demand more and more transparency. Timestamping is a great way to give them this transparency.