What a manifest contains
A C2PA manifest can include a signed claim, assertions about actions, a claim generator, ingredients and references to thumbnails. The asset and claim hashes allow a verifier to detect certain changes.
- Claim and signature
- Actions and editing history
- Ingredients or source assets
- Digital source type
- Validation and trust status
Verification is not a truth detector
A valid signature shows that the signed data validates under the standard. It does not independently verify the event, the person’s identity beyond the credential context, or every edit that happened before signing.
Follow the chain from asset to signed claim
A C2PA-enabled file can carry or reference a manifest store. The active manifest contains a claim and assertions, and its signature binds those statements to a credential. Hashes connect the claim to the asset and can expose certain changes after signing.
The verifier evaluates structure, hashes, signatures and available trust information. It may need embedded resources or permitted external resources, so a privacy-restricted browser path can return a limited result even when another verifier has network access.
- Asset and claim hashes
- Signed assertions
- Actions and ingredients
- Credential and trust chain
- Validation issues
What the four-state test protects against
The interface was given four controlled outcomes that are easy to overstate. Verified remained a statement about a signed claim; invalid described failed validation; untrusted described incomplete trust; and not found stayed neutral.
This wording is a product safety feature as much as a technical choice. A single green or red badge without limits could encourage users to treat provenance data as a universal truth detector.
Use C2PA with ordinary metadata and context
EXIF can show camera settings or GPS without cryptographic protection. C2PA can provide signed provenance without including every ordinary camera field. They answer different questions and should be inspected as separate evidence layers.
For consequential decisions, preserve the original bytes, record the file source, save the validation report and consult contextual evidence. A screenshot of a verification badge is weaker than the original asset and report.
What this does not prove
A metadata result describes the fields and structures that the supported parser could read. It does not, by itself, prove authenticity, intent, authorship or the truth of the visible scene.