What you receive
The two kinds of proof Audrie produces, why both exist, and what each one is good for.
Audrie produces two different kinds of proof. They look similar and they are often confused, so it is worth being clear about which is which, because they answer different questions and they are useful at different moments.
| Answers | Held by | |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication proof | "Is this document genuine, and who stands behind it?" | Whoever holds the document |
| Verification certificate | "Did I check this document, and what did I find?" | Whoever did the checking |
Authentication proof and the optional PDF certificate page
Authentication creates a signed record that ties the file, the signer and the time together, and commits it to the public ledger. For a PDF, you can choose to add a certificate page. Your original content is preserved exactly, and the authenticated PDF itself carries the proof. Email it, put it in a data room, or retain it with your records: the proof goes with it.
For a PDF with embedded authentication proof, this means:
- The document defends itself. Someone who receives it does not have to know what Audrie is, or take your word that the document is genuine. The evidence is right there in the file.
- It works without us. The proof inside the document carries the ledger coordinates for its entry, so anyone holding the file can check it against the public ledger directly. It does not depend on Audrie being reachable, or being in business.
- It cannot be transplanted. The proof is tied to that one exact file. It cannot be lifted off and reattached to a different document, which is precisely the trick that makes a scanned signature worthless.
What it contains is the document's fingerprint, the signature, who stands behind it, when it happened, and where to find the matching public ledger entry.
Authenticate the same document twice and you get two independent records. Audrie will not, however, authenticate a document that already carries Audrie proof inside it, because that would leave the earlier proof stranded and ambiguous.
A verification certificate is your receipt
The second kind is produced when you check somebody else's document. It records that you performed a check, on a specific date, and exactly what came back.
Checking a document is free and needs no account. A verification certificate is different: it is evidence about you, so downloading it requires an account and it is issued only to you. The account and the verification certificate are both free.
That is what makes it useful. If you are the person who has to demonstrate you did your due diligence before relying on a document, "I checked it and it was valid" is an assertion. A verification certificate is evidence, with a date on it, that Audrie stands behind and that is itself committed to the public ledger.
It records what was found at that moment: every record that matched the document, whether each one was still valid or had been revoked, how the signer was standing at the time, and the ledger entry for the check itself.
Your verification certificate names you. It carries your account email so the check is attributable to you, which is what makes it usable as evidence. Anyone who holds the certificate or opens its link can see that email, so share it with the people who need to see your due diligence.
Why both exist
Because two different people need protection, and they need different things.
The person relying on a document needs the document to prove itself, without depending on anyone's cooperation or continued existence. That is the authentication proof. The signed record is on the public ledger and, when you add the certificate page to a PDF, the file itself carries that proof.
The person checking a document needs to show, later, that they checked and what they found. That is the verification certificate, and it belongs to them, not to the document.
A record that could only be checked while Audrie is available would be a weak record. A check that left no trace would be a weak check. Both kinds of proof exist so that neither of those is true here.
Next
- Verifying a document covers checking a document you were sent.
- What Audrie never sees covers what is stored and what is not.