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Frequently Asked Questions
Practical answers about Protect PDF, Timestamp file, Timestamp text, checking files and secret codes, public records, hashes, privacy and Hedera.
Looking for the full explanation?
The FAQ is for quick answers. For a clear path through Protect PDF, timestamping, checking, SHA-256 and the underlying hash and timestamp model, start with the HashMyWords Guide.
What does HashMyWords do?
HashMyWords lets you protect PDFs before AI, timestamp files or text, check files and secret codes, search public records and calculate hashes. Timestamp file and Protect PDF calculate a file's SHA-256 locally and record that hash on Hedera, while Timestamp text hashes the exact words you enter and records that hash on Hedera.
What can a HashMyWords timestamp prove?
For a current Timestamp file record, Hedera can show that a particular SHA-256 was recorded by a particular consensus time. If a local file later produces exactly that SHA-256, it is an exact byte-for-byte match. A timestamp does not, by itself, prove authorship, ownership, identity, truth, authenticity or the original creation date of the material.
Does HashMyWords upload my file?
No. For Timestamp file and Protect PDF, your browser processes the file locally and the file itself is not uploaded. The standard SHA-256 is intentionally submitted and recorded publicly on Hedera so it can be independently reproduced with ordinary SHA-256 tools. Filenames are not part of the Hedera message.
Is my file SHA-256 public?
Yes for current H2 Timestamp file and Protect PDF records. The standard SHA-256 is intentionally public and persistent on Hedera. A SHA-256 is a fingerprint rather than the file contents, but anyone who already has a candidate file can calculate its hash and compare it with the public record. Earlier H1 records used a derived hash instead and remain checkable under that historical format.
What does Protect do to a PDF?
Protect rebuilds a PDF locally in your browser, flattens ordinary form fields where present, removes interactive annotations and page actions, and deliberately does not carry source-only structures such as document JavaScript or embedded-file name trees into the rebuilt document. It then calculates the SHA-256 of the exact rebuilt PDF and records that fingerprint on Hedera so any later byte change can be detected.
Can I protect a PDF before uploading it to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity or another AI tool?
Yes. Protect PDF creates a hardened, timestamped reference PDF before you upload it to an AI service such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot or Perplexity. You download that exact protected PDF and can upload it to the AI tool afterwards. HashMyWords does not upload the document to the AI service for you and is not affiliated with those providers.
Why protect and timestamp a PDF before uploading it to AI?
It gives you a verifiable reference copy of the exact PDF you chose to share at that point in time. If a later copy changes by even one byte, its SHA-256 will normally change and it will no longer match the earlier HashMyWords record. This is tamper evidence and version evidence; it is not proof of authorship or ownership.
Does Protect PDF stop ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity or another AI provider from storing or training on my document?
No. Protect does not control an AI provider’s privacy, retention, model-training or data-use policies. It creates and timestamps a hardened reference copy before sharing. Review the privacy and data-control settings of the AI service before uploading confidential or sensitive material.
Is Protect encryption, DRM or a malware scanner?
No. Protect is PDF hardening plus tamper-evident timestamping. It does not encrypt the document, prevent copying or screenshots, guarantee that every possible malicious PDF technique has been removed, or certify that the document contents are safe or trustworthy.
What PDFs does Protect not support?
Protect v1 rejects encrypted or password-protected PDFs, XFA forms and PDFs that already contain digital signature fields. Rebuilding those documents could remove required behaviour or invalidate an existing signature, so HashMyWords rejects them rather than altering them silently.
What is the difference between Timestamp file and Timestamp text?
Timestamp file records the standard SHA-256 of a file that stays on your device. Timestamp text hashes the exact words you enter. Public text can be stored and shown in Search public records. With Private selected, the plaintext stays in your browser and its standard SHA-256 is recorded publicly on Hedera.
What is the difference between Public and Private text?
Public text is stored by HashMyWords and can appear in public search. Private text is not stored as plaintext by HashMyWords. For current Private text, your browser calculates the standard SHA-256 of the exact text and only that hash and record metadata are submitted; the SHA-256 is public on Hedera and can be matched by someone who correctly guesses short or predictable text. Historical hwm-private-v1 records used a salted SHA-256 hash instead, and their legacy receipts retain the salt needed to reproduce that historical value.
What is the secret code?
The secret code is a private credential generated for your HashMyWords submission. Check a secret code uses it to confirm control of the corresponding record. HashMyWords stores only a one-way check value and cannot recover the original code for you. Save the code or receipt securely.
How do I check a HashMyWords record later?
Use Check a secret code with the private code from your receipt when you want to confirm control of the HashMyWords record. For Timestamp file, use its public file-check link to select the file locally: current H2 records compare the file SHA-256 directly with the SHA-256 recorded on Hedera, while historical H1 records continue to use their original format. Check a secret code and Check a file are separate checks.
Do I need an account?
No. Core timestamping and checking work without an account. An optional account can organise confirmed hashes with private labels, Collections and Version history and can create revocable read-only share links.
Are Collections and Version histories recorded on Hedera?
No. Each underlying hash is independently timestamped on Hedera. Collection membership, Version history membership, names and descriptions are private account metadata managed by HashMyWords and can change without changing the underlying Hedera record.
Why does HashMyWords use a database if the hash is on Hedera?
Hedera is the permanent timestamp evidence layer, not the website database. More precisely, Hedera Consensus Service is an append-only, fairly ordered public consensus log rather than a query database. HashMyWords uses PostgreSQL as a fast application index and projection for Search public records, accounts, labels, collections, moderation and other product features, then checks confirmed hash and timestamp evidence against Hedera through Mirror Node. Changing or deleting application data does not rewrite a confirmed HCS message, and current H2 file hashes can be checked from the Hedera evidence without treating PostgreSQL as the evidence authority.
What if HashMyWords disappears?
The confirmed Hedera record remains on the public network independently of the HashMyWords database. For current H2 file records, anyone can calculate the file SHA-256 with standard tools and compare it directly with the SHA-256 recorded in the HCS message, without depending on HashMyWords software.
Can HashMyWords change or delete a confirmed Hedera timestamp?
HashMyWords can change or remove data in its own website database where applicable, but it cannot simply rewrite or delete a transaction or HCS message after it has been confirmed on Hedera.
Is HashMyWords a copyright registration service or legal advice?
No. HashMyWords is a technical timestamping and checking service. A cryptographic timestamp is not the same thing as copyright registration, a digital signature or professional legal advice, and its legal effect depends on the facts and applicable law.
Still need help?
If your question is about a specific hash, record, account, privacy request or service problem, use the Contact page.