# ChronoVerify

> ChronoVerify checks when a photo was taken and whether it shows signs of editing. It reads capture time and provenance from EXIF and XMP, cryptographically validates C2PA Content Credentials against the official C2PA and CAI trust lists, runs classical pixel forensics, and returns one plain-language verdict with a confidence score. It works on any image, signed or not, through a free web tool and a developer API.

ChronoVerify is provenance-first, not a deepfake classifier. Verdicts are investigative triage and risk scoring, not courtroom proof and not a sole basis for any automated decision. The integrity layer (file hash and signature) is cryptographic and reproducible; the verdict layer is probabilistic and labeled as such. Built by a 25-year intelligence analyst and military veteran.

## Core pages
- [Free verifier](https://chronoverify.com/): Upload or paste an image and get a verdict in seconds.
- [Developer docs](https://chronoverify.com/docs): First verdict in five minutes with one keyless curl, the five-verdict decision table for pipelines, production limits and errors, and links to every SDK and machine-readable spec.
- [Method and limits](https://chronoverify.com/method): How the deterministic pipeline works and what it can and cannot tell you.
- [Pricing and API access](https://chronoverify.com/pricing): Free tier, pay as you go, and flat monthly plans.
- [How ChronoVerify compares](https://chronoverify.com/compare): Design choices by category, with common questions, plus named head-to-head comparisons vs Truepic, Sightengine, and Hive.
- [Compliance and Article 50](https://chronoverify.com/compliance): C2PA validation and a signed audit record as a verification and audit layer for EU AI Act Article 50 transparency (in force August 2, 2026). Provenance validation, not AI detection.
- [Benchmark and calibration](https://chronoverify.com/benchmark): How the false-positive rate is measured, and the forensic-resolution decision.
- [Sample images](https://chronoverify.com/demo): Six sample files with known ground truth that demonstrate each verdict, safe to test the verifier, the API, or the browser extension against.

## Integrations and agent tools
- [Integrations hub](https://chronoverify.com/integrations): Wire ChronoVerify into your agent, framework, or workflow.
- [MCP server](https://chronoverify.com/mcp): One-click install for Claude, Cursor, and VS Code (npm chronoverify-mcp). Tools: verify_image (typed verdict) and get_signed_report (signed PDF audit record). A hosted (remote) MCP endpoint is also live at https://chronoverify.com/mcp/http (streamable HTTP, keyless, read-only verify_image); MCP clients can auto-discover it from https://chronoverify.com/.well-known/mcp.json.
- [OpenAI function calling](https://chronoverify.com/integrations/openai) and [Claude tool use](https://chronoverify.com/integrations/anthropic): copy-paste tool definitions for the OpenAI Chat Completions and Responses APIs and the Anthropic Messages API.
- [LangChain](https://chronoverify.com/integrations/langchain), [LlamaIndex](https://chronoverify.com/integrations/llamaindex), and [CrewAI](https://chronoverify.com/integrations/crewai): load the MCP server as native framework tools.
- [n8n](https://chronoverify.com/integrations/n8n) and [REST and webhooks](https://chronoverify.com/integrations/rest): one HTTP call from any workflow or language; first-party Python and TypeScript SDKs.

## Glossary and use cases
- [Glossary](https://chronoverify.com/glossary): plain-language definitions of C2PA, Content Credentials, EXIF, XMP, provenance, capture time, error level analysis, the C2PA trust list, EU AI Act Article 50, the SHA-256 content fingerprint, geolocation, chronolocation, and reverse image search.
- [Use cases](https://chronoverify.com/use-cases): how teams apply capture-time and provenance verification by vertical, with the workflow, which verdicts matter, and the honest limits for [insurance claims](https://chronoverify.com/use-cases/insurance), [newsrooms](https://chronoverify.com/use-cases/newsroom), [marketplaces](https://chronoverify.com/use-cases/marketplace), [trust and safety](https://chronoverify.com/use-cases/trust-and-safety), [KYC and onboarding](https://chronoverify.com/use-cases/kyc), [gig and field work](https://chronoverify.com/use-cases/gig-work), and [OSINT and investigations](https://chronoverify.com/use-cases/osint).
- [Image OSINT toolbox](https://chronoverify.com/resources): curated, liveness-checked external tools for the other half of image verification (reverse image search, geolocation, chronolocation, pixel forensics, archives), with honest notes on what each can and cannot tell you. ChronoVerify covers the internal-evidence half; these cover context no file carries.

## Free tools
- [Free tools](https://chronoverify.com/tools): standalone, no-signup utilities, each separately usable. [SHA-256 and SHA-512 hash checker](https://chronoverify.com/tools/hash) computes a file content fingerprint entirely in your browser, so the file never leaves your device. [EXIF and XMP viewer](https://chronoverify.com/tools/exif) shows the raw metadata written in a photo (capture time, device, GPS, software tags); metadata can be edited, so it shows what is written, not whether it is true. [C2PA inspector](https://chronoverify.com/tools/c2pa) reads and cryptographically validates Content Credentials against the official C2PA and CAI trust lists; provenance validation, not AI detection. [Signed report verifier](https://chronoverify.com/tools/report) checks that a ChronoVerify PDF report carries a valid ChronoVerify signature over the exact file it describes; it confirms the report is genuine and unaltered, it does not re-assess the photo.

## API
- Verify: POST https://chronoverify.com/v1/verify with a multipart `file`, or a form field `url`. For metered API use send `Authorization: Bearer cv_live_...`; with no header it runs the free, rate-limited public path. Example: `curl -X POST https://chronoverify.com/v1/verify -H "Authorization: Bearer cv_live_..." -F "file=@photo.jpg"`
- Response: a JSON object, for example {"verdict": "consistent", "confidence": 61, "capture_time": {"value": "2026-05-18T14:32:10", "source": "exif"}, "c2pa": {"present": false}, "integrity": {"sha256": "..."}}. Full field reference and language examples: https://chronoverify.com/method#api
- Response JSON Schema: GET https://chronoverify.com/v1/verify.schema.json is a versioned JSON Schema of the verify response (verdict enum, signal directions, the C2PA block, integrity fingerprints), for agents and codegen.
- Signing key: GET https://chronoverify.com/v1/key returns the Ed25519 public key used to sign PDF reports.
- Verdict fields: capture_time, capture_location, capture_device, c2pa, metadata_consistency, pixel_forensics, integrity (SHA-256 and SHA-512), and one verdict enum: provenance_confirmed, consistent, inconclusive, metadata_anomaly, or manipulation_indicated.
- Shareable verdict links: add form field `permalink=true` to POST https://chronoverify.com/v1/verify to also store the verdict (never the image) and get back an unlisted link in the response's permalink field, viewable by humans at /v/{id} and as raw JSON at /v/{id}.json. Off by default; nothing is stored unless the caller opts in. API-key links do not expire; keyless links expire after 90 days.
- Pricing: free 100 per month; pay as you go $0.003 per image; Business $99 for 50,000 per month; Scale $299 for 200,000 per month. No operation multipliers, no sales call. Signed PDF audit reports (POST /v1/report) are a premium unit at $0.20 each, and are included within a paid plan's monthly quota (a key's free monthly allotment covers reports too).

## For AI agents: onboarding in four steps
1. Try it with no key or signup: `curl -X POST https://chronoverify.com/v1/verify -F "url=https://example.com/photo.jpg"` (free, per-IP rate limited). Or connect the hosted MCP endpoint at https://chronoverify.com/mcp/http.
2. Read the machine contract: GET https://chronoverify.com/v1/onboarding returns one JSON manifest with the auth scheme, pricing, quota headers, error semantics, and every endpoint. GET https://chronoverify.com/openapi.json and GET https://chronoverify.com/v1/verify.schema.json cover codegen.
3. Get your own free key, no card and no human step: POST https://chronoverify.com/v1/keys/free with an `email` field (form or JSON). It grants 100 verifications per month, one key per email, shown once in the response. Signed PDF reports and volume beyond the free 100 need a paid key: ask your user to open https://chronoverify.com/pricing and buy prepaid credits ($5 minimum) or a plan; that key is revealed after checkout and at https://chronoverify.com/dashboard.
4. Send `Authorization: Bearer cv_live_...` and watch the X-Credits-Remaining-USD and X-Quota-Remaining response headers to know when to tell your user to top up. Out of credit returns HTTP 402 with a plain-language detail.

## Good for
- Verifying capture time and provenance of any photo, signed or not
- Triage at scale for insurance claims, marketplaces, dating apps, fintech identity checks, gig platforms, and newsrooms
- Reading C2PA Content Credentials and EXIF or XMP, with a graceful result when none are present

## Not for
- Detecting deepfakes or AI-generated images
- Proving a photo is authentic, or being the only basis for an automated decision

## How ChronoVerify compares
- Works on any image, signed or not. It reads C2PA Content Credentials when present and falls back to EXIF, XMP, and pixel forensics when they are absent, instead of only validating already-signed files.
- Flat, self-serve pricing: $0.003 per image with no per-operation multipliers, no minimum seat, and no sales call. Start on the free tier and add prepaid credits without talking to anyone.
- Provenance-first and deliberately not a deepfake classifier. Verdicts are investigative triage with a stated confidence and documented limits, not a black-box authenticity score.
- One plain-language verdict (provenance_confirmed, consistent, inconclusive, metadata_anomaly, manipulation_indicated) plus a 0 to 100 confidence, the same object in the browser and the API.
- Named head-to-head comparisons, with every competitor claim sourced to that vendor's own public pages and dated: [ChronoVerify vs Truepic](https://chronoverify.com/compare/truepic) (Truepic signs media at capture; ChronoVerify validates provenance on any image, self-serve), [ChronoVerify vs Sightengine](https://chronoverify.com/compare/sightengine) (Sightengine scores AI-generated and deepfake likelihood; ChronoVerify validates C2PA provenance and capture time), and [ChronoVerify vs Hive](https://chronoverify.com/compare/hive) (Hive scores AI-generated and deepfake content; ChronoVerify validates C2PA provenance with a signed audit record).

## Guides
- [ChronoVerify update, July 2026: what shipped and who it is for](https://chronoverify.com/blog/chronoverify-update-july-2026): Verdict permalinks, the /demo sample gallery, raw GPS coordinates in verdicts, two real-world iPhone photo fixes (the 40 megapixel cap and HDR gain-map JPEGs), a browser extension headed to the stores, and a plain list of who image provenance verification helps.
- [ChronoVerify joins the Content Authenticity Initiative](https://chronoverify.com/blog/chronoverify-joins-the-content-authenticity-initiative): ChronoVerify is a member of the CAI, the Adobe-founded community behind C2PA Content Credentials. What membership means and does not mean (not a certification, conformance mark, or endorsement).
- [Content provenance for AI systems: why validation beats detection](https://chronoverify.com/blog/content-provenance-for-ai-systems)
- [How to tell when a photo was taken](https://chronoverify.com/blog/when-was-a-photo-taken)
- [What are Content Credentials (C2PA), and how do you check them](https://chronoverify.com/blog/what-are-content-credentials-c2pa)
- [How to read EXIF metadata, and what it can and cannot prove](https://chronoverify.com/blog/how-to-read-exif-metadata)
- [Is this photo AI-generated, and how to actually check](https://chronoverify.com/blog/is-this-photo-ai-generated)

## More
- [Full guide](https://chronoverify.com/llms-full.txt): Expanded description, verdict meanings, and limits.