“But we took photos.” That is exactly where the mistake lies: on its own, a photo proves surprisingly little — as long as it is unclear when and where it was taken, and whether it is unaltered.
A vehicle handover quickly produces a dozen photos. In a dispute, though, it is not the quantity that counts but the question: is this image genuine, unaltered and clearly attributed to this vehicle and this moment? An ordinary phone photo fails on three counts.
A photo captured under Certified Capture, sealed and publicly anchored is evidence — the kind that also holds up with insurers and when it is challenged.
Image data (EXIF) can be changed or may be missing entirely. “When and where was it taken?” is therefore not reliably documented — the heart of every before/after dispute.
Photos and PDFs can be edited on a computer: change a date, retouch a scratch away. Without protection against manipulation, every image remains open to attack.
Was the image really taken on site — or uploaded from the gallery, old, or of a different vehicle? A loose upload does not answer that.
Evidence that holds up arises when three layers of protection come together:
Genuinely captured (Certified Capture): the photo is taken live in the app — no gallery upload — and firmly linked to place, time and device.
Sealed immutably: a digital fingerprint is calculated from the entire record. If even a single pixel changes, the seal breaks visibly.
Independently and publicly verifiable: the fingerprint is entered into a public register and additionally anchored in the Bitcoin blockchain. Anyone can recompute the authenticity for themselves — without having to trust the provider.
For dealerships, rental companies, fleets and leasing companies this is not a technical detail but the difference between one person's word against another's and clear, documented liability.
Often not: a loose photo can be moved, edited afterwards and, without a secured link to time and place, is hard to attribute clearly.
Capture live on site with place and time firmly attached, protection against later alteration, and an authenticity that every party can verify independently.
No — EXIF data can be changed without difficulty and is therefore not regarded as reliable proof of when or where an image was taken.
A complete walk-around outside, the interior views, the odometer and every visible item of damage individually — when in doubt, one photo too many rather than one too few.