C2PA glossary
The words for reading, explaining and verifying Content Credentials: provenance, integrity, statuses, certificates and reports.
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C2PA acronym
An open technical standard for attaching and verifying provenance information in digital media.
Not to be confused with a judgment on whether media is true.
C2PA manifest noun
The structured C2PA record that can include actions, ingredients, hashes, signer information and signatures.
It is the evidence a verifier reads and validates.
C2PA Trust List noun
The list of recognized trust sources that verifiers use to evaluate a signature.
A certificate that does not chain to it gives “signed but untrusted”.
CAI acronym
Content Authenticity Initiative: a community and open-source tools that promote the adoption of Content Credentials.
It drives adoption of the C2PA technical standard. ProvSeal is a member.
CAWG acronym
Creator Assertions Working Group: identity assertions for people and organizations.
Separates the identity of the tool from that of the creator or publisher.
Certificate chain noun
The path that links a signing certificate to a recognized authority or trust anchor.
It is what separates public trust from a test signature.
Conformance Program noun
A process that evaluates whether a product meets C2PA requirements.
Content Credentials plural noun
Signed provenance and integrity information attached to media.
They show the origin, the declared actions and the validation status.
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I
Ingredient noun
A source file or input declared in a C2PA manifest.
It explains the link between a file and its declared sources.
Integrity signals plural noun
Cryptographic checks that show whether a file still matches the signed manifest.
If bytes change without an updated manifest, verification fails.
Invalid status
C2PA evidence exists, but integrity or signature validation failed.
The file or its manifest was changed after signing.
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JSON export noun
A structured report format for internal review, documentation or automation.
Useful for quality control and for integration with your tools.
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Manifest report noun
A readable explanation of the detected C2PA data: actions, signer, certificate and status.
The working document of the teams who verify.
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No credentials status
No C2PA evidence was detected in the file.
This does not mean the content is fake: most content does not carry any yet.
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Provenance signals plural noun
Clues about where content came from, what was declared and whether it matches the observed file.
Not to be confused with fake detection.
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Signed but untrusted status
Signed C2PA evidence exists, but the certificate chain is not recognized in the verification context.
Typical case: a test certificate or an authority that is not on the list.
Signing certificate noun
A certificate used to sign a manifest and bind declared provenance to the media.
The associated private key must stay under the organization’s control.
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Test certificate noun
A certificate created for demos, development or internal validation.
It is never publicly recognized: the status will be “signed but untrusted”.
Test signing noun
A signature created with demo material, to validate a workflow before production.
It never gives the Trusted status.
Trusted status
The C2PA evidence is valid and the certificate chain is recognized.
The strongest status a verifier can give.
Trusted certificate noun
A certificate that chains to a recognized trust source, which makes the Trusted status possible.
See also: certificate chain, trust list.
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No term matches. Try “certificate”, “manifest” or “status”.
- A rule of use: ProvSeal helps examine evidence. It must not be presented as a fake or AI detector, nor as a guarantee of truth. Read the limitations
See these words in action.
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