Quickstart — Timestamp Your First File in 60 Seconds

Step 1: Create Your Account

Go to app.timeprooflabs.com and connect your account. TimeProof uses wallet-based sign-in, including embedded wallet onboarding through email or social login for non-crypto users.

You’ll be guided through a quick onboarding that explains your dashboard, unified credit system, and how timestamping works.

Step 2: Get Your First Credits

TimeProof uses unified credits.

Option	Credits	Price	Best For
Micro pack	100	$15	Scheduled-only usage
Basic pack	350	$49	Small recurring projects
Starter plan	100/month	$19/mo	Verified instant and Legal-Grade access

If you only need scheduled timestamps, start with a pack. If you need verification, instant timestamps, or Legal-Grade, start with a monthly plan.

Step 3: Timestamp a File

Click “Create Timestamp” in your dashboard
Drag and drop your file (or click to browse)
Choose Scheduled or Instant if your account is verified through a monthly plan
Click “Timestamp”

That’s it. Your file is hashed in your browser, the hash is sent to TimeProof, and it’s anchored to the Polygon blockchain.

What happens behind the scenes:

Your browser calculates the file’s SHA-256 hash — a unique 64-character fingerprint
Only this hash is sent to TimeProof (your file stays on your computer)
The hash is written to our smart contract on Polygon (a public blockchain)
You receive a timestamp certificate with the transaction ID, block number, and anchor time

For Instant timestamps, this takes about one Polygon block. For Scheduled timestamps, anchoring happens during the low-gas batch window and proof is available within the documented V1 timing.

Step 4: Verify Your Timestamp

After timestamping, you can verify it anytime:

Method 1: Through TimeProof

Go to the Verification page
Drop in the same file
TimeProof recalculates the hash and confirms it matches the blockchain record

Method 2: Independent verification

Copy the transaction ID from your certificate
Go to polygonscan.com
Paste the transaction ID and see the anchored hash directly on the public ledger
No TimeProof account needed — anyone can verify

Step 5 (Optional): Add Legal-Grade

For files that might face legal scrutiny — contracts, IP evidence, compliance documents — the Legal-Grade upgrade adds courtroom-ready evidence.

Legal-Grade is a verified batch upgrade. Starter and Pro charge 50 credits for up to 25 files, then +2/file. Business charges 25 credits for up to 25 files, then +1/file. Enterprise includes Legal-Grade. It adds these deliverables to your evidence package:

File	Purpose
`certificate.json`	Machine-readable timestamp proof
`merkle_proof.json`	Cryptographic inclusion proof
`identity_attestation.jws`	Signed proof of your identity (JWS format)
`identity_readme.json`	How to verify the attestation
`verification_guide.txt`	Step-by-step guide for attorneys
`CHECKSUMS.sha256`	Hash of every file in the bundle

The identity attestation (JWS) is self-proving — attorneys or courts can verify it using our public key at /.well-known/jwks.json without contacting TimeProof.

What Happens to Your File?

Nothing. Your file never leaves your computer.

TimeProof uses client-side hashing: your browser computes the SHA-256 hash locally, and only the hash (a 64-character string like e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb924...) is sent to our servers.

It’s mathematically impossible to reconstruct your file from its hash. Even if TimeProof’s servers were compromised, your file contents would remain completely private.

Next Steps

Now that you’ve timestamped your first file, here’s where to go:

Batch timestamping — Timestamp hundreds of files at once
Understanding your certificate — What each field means
API integration — Timestamp files programmatically
Legal-Grade deep dive — When and why to upgrade