DataSeal.net
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Practical guide

How to read a public certificate

A shared proof link opens a public certificate page. Here is how to read it from top to bottom without getting lost in the cryptography.

Two layers on the page

The page has a short site header (“Public certificate”) and a framed Certificate of Existence card. The card is the authoritative record—focus there first.

Certificate header (top of the card)

  • Status badges — proof mode (hash, encrypted, or public), chain status (e.g. Confirmed), and Merkle proof status (e.g. Proof Ready).
  • Title of timestamped data — the name the owner gave this entry.
  • Description of timestamped data — optional context; appears below the badges when provided.

Timestamp & content metadata

  • Timestamped — when DataSeal.net created the record (certificate time).
  • Clone-proof fingerprint — SHA-256 of the file or text. Click the field or copy icon to copy. See the hashing guide.
  • Supporting fields — input type, filename, MIME type, size, or text length when available.

Blockchain anchoring

When broadcasting has completed, you will see on-chain fields. These answer where and when the anchor landed—not what the file contains by themselves.

  • Transaction ID — the anchor transaction on the blockchain (the Merkle leaf—not your file hash).
  • Transaction hex — raw transaction bytes. Click to open the decoder and inspect inputs, outputs, and OP_RETURN payload. Use the copy icon to copy the hex.
  • Network, chain status, block hash, block height, block time — where the transaction was confirmed.

Background: blockchain guide.

Merkle proof section

When proof status is ready, the certificate includes TSC Merkle proof data:

  • Proof status, provider, format, and fetch time.
  • Proof nodes — sibling hashes along the path.
  • 3D Merkle path — blue diamond = your data fingerprint, gray sphere = transaction, teal nodes = proof siblings, orange = block hash. Click any node for the full hash.

Details: Merkle proofs guide.

Sections below the card

  • Privacy & visibility — explains what visitors can or cannot see for this proof mode.
  • Independent verification (hash mode) — upload or paste your bytes to compare against the fingerprint on the page.
  • Encrypted / public payload — download or decrypt options when the owner enabled them for this link.

What to check first (quick scan)

  1. Does the data title and description match what you expected?
  2. Is chain status Confirmed and proof Merkle-ready when you need full anchoring?
  3. Does the fingerprint match your file if you can recompute SHA-256?
  4. Does the transaction decoder show your fingerprint in OP_RETURN?

For a full checklist, see Verify a proof yourself.