Prove it existed — without showing it to anyone.
Freeze registers a cryptographic fingerprint of any file against independent timestamp references. The result is proof that this exact file existed, unchanged, at a point in time — independently verifiable, with or without Provena. Your content never leaves your machine.
Three steps. No upload.
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1
Fingerprint locally.
Your file is hashed with SHA-512 on your own machine. The fingerprint identifies the exact bytes — but reveals nothing about the content, and the content is never uploaded.
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2
Register and anchor.
Provena records the fingerprint in a hash-linked custody ledger and registers it with independent references: timestamp authorities (RFC 3161) and public networks that operate outside Provena.
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3
Verify any time.
Anyone holding the original file can recompute the fingerprint and check it — publicly, with no account. The external references remain checkable even without Provena.
Independent references, not buzzwords.
A Freeze record does not ask you to trust a technology brand — or Provena. Its strength is independence: the fingerprint is registered with references operated outside the platform, so the proof can be checked without taking anyone's word for it.
- Timestamp authority tokens (RFC 3161) — signed time references in a format courts and auditors have handled for years.
- Public-network references — the fingerprint is registered on public, append-only networks that no single party controls. Only the fingerprint: your content is never published anywhere.
- Anchors that outlive Provena — if Provena disappeared tomorrow, the references would still be there, and still be checkable.
Anything you may need to prove you had first.
- Music and compositions — lyrics, scores, and recordings, registered before they circulate.
- Manuscripts, e-books, and research — drafts and final versions, each with its own record.
- Source code and software releases — a fingerprint per release, without opening the repository to anyone.
- Photography and illustration — originals registered before publication or delivery to a client.
- Brand and creative assets — names, identities, campaigns, and concepts, dated before the pitch.
- Trade secrets and business documents — proposals, plans, and internal records whose content must stay private.
- Contract versions — each negotiated draft frozen as it stood, before the next round of edits.
- API automation — register fingerprints from your own systems as part of your workflow.
What a Freeze record proves — and what it doesn't.
- Existence at a point in time — this exact file existed when the references were issued.
- Integrity since then — an unaltered copy still produces the same fingerprint.
- Precedence — an earlier reference is evidence of having held the file first.
- Authorship or ownership — holding a file at a date is not the same as having created it.
- Truth of the content — a record proves what the file was, not that what it says is accurate.
- Official registration — Freeze complements trademark offices and notarial registries; it does not replace them.
We would rather tell you this now than have someone else tell you in a dispute.
Straight answers about Freeze.
What is Provena Freeze?
Freeze is proof of existence for digital files. It registers a cryptographic fingerprint of your file against independent timestamp references, producing a record that demonstrates the file existed, in exactly that form, at a point in time — without exposing its content.
Is my file uploaded to Provena?
No. The fingerprint is computed locally, on your machine, and only the fingerprint is registered. Provena never receives, stores, or has any contact with the content of your file.
What exactly gets registered?
A SHA-512 fingerprint of your file, recorded in a hash-linked custody ledger and registered with external references: a signed timestamp token (RFC 3161) and references on public, append-only networks. The fingerprint identifies the exact bytes of the file but reveals nothing about what it contains.
Does a Freeze record prove I am the author?
No — and we won't pretend otherwise. It proves you held this exact file at that date, which supports a claim of precedence. Authorship is established by other means; a Freeze record is one piece of evidence in that argument, often a strong one, but never the whole argument.
What if someone registers the same file after me?
The timestamps decide. Identical files produce identical fingerprints, and your earlier references demonstrate that you held the file first. That is exactly the scenario proof of existence is built for.
Does Freeze replace registration with a trademark office or notary?
No. Official registries grant rights and formalities that a technical record does not. Freeze complements them: it is fast, private, verifiable evidence of existence and integrity that can support your position in a dispute — not a substitute for jurisdiction-specific registration where that registration matters.
Is there a limit on file size or type?
Any file type works — text, image, audio, video, archive, binary. Because the fingerprint is computed locally and has a fixed size, large files don't need to travel anywhere; the practical limit is only what your own machine can read.
Can Provena give me a copy of my file later?
No — we never had it. Keep the original safe: verification works by recomputing the fingerprint from an unaltered copy, so the record is only useful while you can produce the file it describes. Treat your backups as part of the proof.
How do I verify a record — and what if Provena disappears?
Verification is public and needs no account: anyone with the file can recompute the fingerprint and check it against the record. And because the external references live with timestamp authorities and public networks that operate outside Provena, they remain checkable even in a future where Provena no longer exists.
Ready to freeze your first file?
The proof engine already runs in production across the Provena line. Freezing a file takes less than a minute.