Free and open vs polished and commercial.
ProofMode is free, open-source, and trusted by journalists and human-rights workers since 2013. We respect it enormously. The honest truth: if price and open code are your top priorities, ProofMode is hard to beat. We're built for a different job.
Sourced from ProofMode's public docs (Guardian Project) and source code as of June 2026.
| Trustamp | ProofMode | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~ Free watermark tier; ~$2/mo verified | ✓ Free, always |
| Open source | ✗ Closed source | ✓ Fully open (Guardian Project) |
| Who it's built for | Delivery, inspection, insurance, field-work | Journalists, activists, human-rights documentation |
| Proof model | Visible watermark + C2PA credential + verify link | PGP-signed media + sensor-data proof bundle |
| Visible watermark on the photo | ✓ Time / GPS / brand templates | ~ Not the focus (proof is in the metadata + bundle) |
| Open C2PA standard | ✓ C2PA-compatible | ✓ Simple C2PA (c2pa-rs) |
| Share as a single link | ✓ trustampcamera.com/verify/<id> | ~ Shares media + proof files (.asc, .csv) |
| Ease for non-technical users | ✓ Tap, shoot, send a link | ~ More technical (keys, proof bundles) |
| Sensor / environment corroboration | ~ Time + GPS + device | ✓ Full sensor snapshot (CSV), signed |
| Insurance / legal PDF export | ✓ Pro tier | ✗ Not built in |
| Privacy model | ✓ Original stays local (hash witness) | ✓ Local-first, privacy-focused |
| Track record | ✗ Pre-launch (honest about it) | ✓ Since 2013; election & field tested |
You want free, open, and battle-tested. You're a journalist, an activist, or documenting human-rights events. You want code you can audit, zero cost, a rich signed sensor-data bundle as corroboration, and you're comfortable handling PGP keys and proof files. ProofMode has earned its trust over more than a decade — use it.
You want it to look like proof and be effortless. You're a delivery driver, contractor, or field inspector who needs a visible time + GPS watermark on the photo, a one-tap link you can text to an adjuster, and a PDF export for an insurance or legal file — without thinking about keys or proof bundles. You'd rather tap a shutter and send a link than manage a signature chain.
We can't beat free, and we can't beat open-source — ProofMode wins both, decisively.
What we add is polish and a commercial workflow: a visible watermark
people instantly read as "this is a real, dated, located photo," a verify link instead
of a folder of .asc and .csv files, and exports built for
insurance and legal use. ProofMode proves to a forensic analyst; Trustamp proves to a
claims adjuster.
Early signup = locked-in pricing, Pro at Lite price for 12 months.