Chronolocation
The investigative practice of establishing when digital evidence such as a photo existed or was captured - Truestamp supports it by proving a submission window, giving evidence a verifiable existed-by guarantee while never claiming creation time.
Overview
Chronolocation is the investigative practice of establishing when a piece of digital evidence, such as a photo, was captured or existed. Truestamp names chronolocation verification for investigative journalism as a media use case on its home page: submitting evidence produces a proof that brackets its submission window, so anyone can later confirm the evidence existed no later than that window’s submitted-before edge. That existed-by guarantee is the part of chronolocation a timestamp can supply; a proof never establishes creation time (when the evidence was originally made), a boundary covered in what Truestamp proves and what Truestamp does not prove.
Citations
- Bellingcat: Chronolocation - Determining When a Photo Was Taken. The investigative-journalism explainer of chronolocation that the Truestamp home page links from its media use case.