yousaidthat.org

Product Introduction

1. Definition: YouSaidThat.org is a zero-knowledge cryptographic notarization platform and decentralized statement-sealing service. It utilizes a combination of open cryptographic standards to create immutable, time-locked proofs of existence and future predictions without requiring trust in any central authority or platform.
2. Core Value Proposition: The platform provides trustless, privacy-first infrastructure for permanently proving that a specific statement or prediction existed at a specific time, or for locking a statement to be revealed at a future date. Its core promise is "Your proof lives outside any server," emphasizing a non-custodial, fully auditable system built on the Bitcoin blockchain, Arweave permanent storage, and advanced cryptographic techniques like drand IBE timelock encryption.

Main Features

1. Proof of Existence (Public & Encrypted Modes): This feature allows users to anchor a document or statement's digital fingerprint permanently. Users choose between a "Cleartext" mode, where the full content is stored on Arweave for public, permanent, and censorship-resistant verification, or an "Encrypted" mode, where the content is encrypted client-side using AES-256-GCM, with the decryption key stored only in the user's local PDF capsule. In both cases, a SHA-256 hash of the content is generated and then anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain via the OpenTimestamps Protocol, while a RFC 3161 Timestamp Authority (TSA) token provides an additional, standard-compliant timestamp. This creates dual, immutable proofs of existence.
2. Sealed Prediction (Zero-Knowledge Timelock): This is a privacy-centric feature for future reveals. A user writes a prediction, which is encrypted locally using drand IBE (Identity-Based Encryption) timelock encryption. The mathematical properties of this system ensure the decryption key physically does not exist until a specified future date or Bitcoin block height. The server never sees the plaintext. The system uses an RSA-PSS keypair for attestation, and the sealed capsule file is anchored to Bitcoin and a TSA. At the target time, the user can upload their capsule to prove ownership and reveal the content, which is then publicly verifiable.
3. Trustless and Verifiable Architecture: The entire system is designed to be non-custodial and auditable. No accounts are needed, and no keys are held by the service provider. Verification is decentralized; anyone can check the Bitcoin transaction, the Arweave storage proof, the RFC 3161 token, and the RSA-PSS signature. The platform is built on open standards (SHA-256, AES-256-GCM, RSA-PSS, RFC 3161, Bitcoin, Arweave, OpenTimestamps, drand), making the cryptographic claims fully auditable and verifiable without relying on the platform's own servers.

Problems Solved

1. Pain Point: The problem of proving a document's existence, a thought's origin, or a prediction's timing without relying on a central, potentially fallible, or censorable third party like a notary, email, or cloud storage service. It solves the issue of "proving you wrote it exactly then, without trusting you or any platform."
2. Target Audience: Financial Analysts & Market Commentators making time-stamped market calls; Researchers & Inventors requiring immutable proof of discovery or idea origination; Legal Professionals needing non-repudiable document notarization; Forensic Analysts & Journalists preserving evidence; Cryptocurrency & Prediction Market Enthusiasts seeking to verify the timing of forecasts.
3. Use Cases: Notarizing a legal document's existence before filing; time-stamping a scientific thesis or patent draft; making a verifiable public prediction about future events (as demonstrated with predictions about meat consumption trends and World Cup outcomes); creating an immutable proof of concept for a startup; preserving evidence of statements for journalistic integrity.

Unique Advantages

1. Differentiation: Unlike traditional notarization or timestamping services (which rely on trusted authorities) or simple cloud storage (which is centralized and mutable), YouSaidThat.org combines decentralized anchoring (Bitcoin + Arweave) with client-side encryption and mathematical timelocks. Its "Sealed Prediction" feature, using drand IBE, is a significant differentiator, as it enables future revelations where the decryption key is guaranteed to be non-existent until the specified time—a capability not found in standard proof-of-existence tools.
2. Key Innovation: The core innovation is the integration of a mathematically enforced time-lock via the drand IBE (tlock-js) protocol. This moves beyond simple cryptographic hashing (which proves past existence) to provide trustless future revelation. The system guarantees that a sealed prediction cannot be decrypted early by anyone—not the user, not the platform, not a hacker—because the key does not exist. This creates a new primitive for verified future commitments.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How can I verify a prediction on YouSaidThat.org without trusting the platform? You can independently verify any claim using the provided proof artifacts. For an anchored prediction, check the SHA-256 hash against the transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain via a block explorer using the provided OpenTimestamps proof. For a revealed prediction, verify the user's RSA-PSS signature contained in the capsule file. For public predictions, the content is also permanently stored on Arweave, and you can verify its transaction. All cryptographic proofs are based on open standards.
2. Is the content of my sealed prediction ever visible to yousaidthat.org? No. In "Sealed Prediction" mode, the encryption happens entirely client-side in your browser. The platform's servers receive only an encrypted blob. The drand IBE encryption ensures that the decryption key is derived from a future randomness beacon (drand) and is not computable until the target date. The platform has zero knowledge of the plaintext content.
3. What is the technical difference between a "Proof of Existence" and a "Sealed Prediction"? A Proof of Existence proves a statement existed at a specific time by anchoring its hash. It is either public (cleartext on Arweave) or encrypted with a key you control. A Sealed Prediction is a specific, advanced implementation of an encrypted proof where the encryption uses a time-lock (drand IBE). It guarantees that decryption is impossible until a future date, adding a dimension of verified future disclosure to the proof of existence.
4. How long will my proof exist, and can it be taken down? The cryptographic proofs anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain are permanent and immutable. Public content stored on Arweave is designed for permanent, decentralized storage, making it censorship-resistant. The platform itself is non-custodial and serverless in design for the proofs, meaning the data's persistence relies on these decentralized networks, not on yousaidthat.org's operational status.
5. Do I need to create an account to use the service? No. The service is designed to be non-custodial and privacy-first. No accounts are required to create a proof, seal a prediction, or verify an existing proof. The user's only obligation is to safeguard their PDF capsule file, which contains the necessary keys for future operations.