Live capture · Cryptographic loop
1234QRn signed
Phone A·Code 04
Next code displayed
3 segments accepted · 4.8 s
prev5bae·2547…
Phone B·Camera
REC00:04.8
Code detected
Keep filming
Validating segment 04…
TrueTake proves a video was filmed live. One phone shows QR codes signed by the server, the other films them: every code depends on the second before it. The result is a signed, anchored proof that anyone can verify.
See a verified proofEvery code depends on the second before it.
The problem
Editing, generative AI, rewritten metadata: a video received after the fact no longer tells you when or how it was shot. That doubt weighs on everyone who has to decide based on evidence.
AI tools produce convincing videos in minutes. Detectors play catch-up, with false positives.
Date, place, device: a file’s metadata can be edited with free software. It proves nothing.
Real footage can be cut, reordered or replayed in front of a camera. Nothing shows it to the naked eye.
TrueTake doesn’t try to guess whether a video is fake. It proves the video was filmed live, inside a loop that cannot be prepared in advance.
Interactive simulator
This simulator runs in your browser with real SHA-256 (WebCrypto). Film segments, watch each hash go into the next QR code, then change a single byte of a video you already filmed.
First code: no previous segment
Aim at the code, then film
Film at least one segment before tampering with it.
The chain
Code 1 is showing on phone A. Film the first segment.
chainₙ = SHA-256(chainₙ₋₁ ‖ segmentₙ ‖ QRₙ)
Teaching simulation: the real app signs every QR code (Ed25519, COSE) and hashes canonical records (JCS). Nothing is sent anywhere; everything is computed in this page.
How it works
Two phones, a server that signs and a public ledger. Every step leaves a trace that anyone can recompute.
Pair
One button, no role to choose. Each phone shows a pairing code and looks through its camera. Aim one at the other: the phone that reads the code becomes the camera, the other one will show the signed codes. Put it in the scene and step back: the capture starts by itself once you hold still, without filming the set-up.
Loop
A shows a QR code signed by the server. B films a segment of about one second, chains it to the previous ones and uploads it. The server checks the right code is visible, then issues the next QR code, which commits to that chain. The loop runs until you stop it, and the history is signed as you film.
Seal
At the end, the server assembles the video, runs eleven consistency checks and signs a certificate that commits to the signed history of the capture, its live coverage and the final file.
Anchor
The certificate hash becomes a leaf of a Merkle tree. The root is published in batches in the TrueTake public ledger (a simulated network during the beta); once anchored on a public network, it dates the proof without revealing anything about it.
What we prove
For every segment a valid proof counts as filmed live, with no estimate or probability; the signed history is recomputed in the verifier:
These guarantees rest on Ed25519, SHA-256 and the server: its key, its clock, its reading of the code in the frames. They establish when and in what order the video was recorded, not that the scene is true.
The most elaborate scenario: filming, live, a screen playing a generated scene, with phone A’s codes in the frame. Our checks impose heavy constraints on it:
To be clear: no automatic detector of filmed screens or generated images is active today; these analyses are planned.
An AI detector estimates a probability, after the fact. TrueTake establishes the proof while the video is being shot, and anyone can verify it. To pass off a generated video, one would have to produce it live, with phone A’s codes in the picture, segment after segment. Without making fakes impossible, TrueTake makes them very hard: we therefore consider it the most reliable way today to show that a video was filmed live rather than generated.
Use cases
Water damage, a damaged vehicle, the state before works: the policyholder films, the adjuster checks the video really dates from the claim.
What the proof addsFilmed live, at server time, not recombined.
A witness films while a remote reporter shows the codes. The newsroom publishes the video with its verification link.
What the proof addsNo sequence prepared in advance or injected.
The courier shows the parcel, the customer shows the codes: the hand-over is documented in a minute, without paper.
What the proof addsBoth parties took part, at the same moment.
Alongside an official report, a recording every party can verify, with its hash chain attached to the file.
What the proof addsEvery segment linked to the previous one, file intact.
Building sites, rentals, quality checks: the inspector and the other party produce a shared, time-stamped record.
What the proof addsServer time-stamp and capture context.
TrueTake produces technical evidence. Its legal weight depends on the context and on the judgement of those who examine it.
Trust and technology
Open standards, recomputable by anyone
Live proof
The TrueTake server runs a demo operation end to end: real signed QR codes, real videos, the real chain, a certificate signed then anchored. Open it in the verifier and watch every check pass.
API unreachable · static sample
Frozen sample shown because the API is not responding. Real values appear as soon as it is reachable.
Anchored Simulated network Synthetic demonstration
Demo being generated
Proofs issued
128
Proofs anchored
127
Batches published
41
Last anchor
16 Oct 2026
Excluding demos
Public ledger open
The last 5 anchored batches
No batch published yet.
FAQ
Yes. One shows the codes, the other films: these two separate roles make the loop impossible to prepare alone in advance. You have nothing to choose: open TrueTake on both, and the phone you aim at the other becomes the camera. Each phone only needs the app and an internet connection.
As long as you need, up to 30 minutes: you can finish once at least five seconds have been filmed live, over three codes. Each code stays valid for 20 seconds. Once the phones are paired, you have two minutes to frame the scene: the capture starts by itself as soon as you hold still, and nothing is filmed before.
Not with a detector, and we don’t claim to. TrueTake turns the problem around: it proves that every segment counted as live was recorded inside the loop, which rules out a video edited after the fact. That leaves faking it live, such as a filmed screen: we make it very hard, not impossible (what we put in place). The forensic checks are consistency heuristics, not AI detection.
Anyone, without an account. The verifier runs in the browser: drop the proof file and the video, and every check is recomputed locally. Only the public keys and the anchor batches come from the public API.
During capture, yes: the server reads each segment to check the visible code, then assembles the final video. It is kept for a limited time (see the privacy policy). When you verify, however, your file never leaves your device.
During the beta, Merkle roots are published in the TrueTake public ledger with a simulated, recomputable transaction, not on a public blockchain. The verifier says so clearly instead of hiding it behind “valid”. Anchoring on a test network (Base Sepolia) is available as an option.
Each segment is uploaded as soon as it is filmed, and the history is signed as you go. If the network drops, a call comes in or the app goes to the background, the capture is interrupted: you have two minutes to resume it, at most three times, and each interruption appears on the certificate with its duration. Without a resume, the capture ends by itself and is certified only if at least five seconds were filmed live.
It is technical evidence, documented and verifiable by third parties. Its weight depends on the context and on the judgement of those who examine it. TrueTake does not replace a public officer.
An Android test build is available (Android 10+). The iOS version is in preparation: drop us a line from the download page to be notified.
Install TrueTake on two phones and produce your first verifiable proof in under a minute.
