Verify an EvidentlySo PDF
Confirm that a PDF transcript is the exact file EvidentlySo generated, and that nothing in it has changed since.
The PDF stays on your device. Only its fingerprint is checked.
Have several PDFs? Check each one. Each PDF, and each volume of a large PDF, has its own fingerprint.
Working out the fingerprint of …
Verified: this PDF is unchanged
This file is identical to the PDF registered with EvidentlySo. Nothing in it has been added, removed or altered since.
- Transcript ID
- (matches the ID printed on every page)
- Registered
Using this result. To show that a transcript hasn’t been altered since it was generated, cite its Transcript ID and registration date. Anyone, including opposing counsel or the court, can check the same file on this page and get the same result.
Technical details
SHA-256 fingerprint of this file:
Registration shows when this exact file was registered and that it hasn’t changed. It doesn’t show who made the PDF, and it doesn’t check the snapshots it was made from (see The snapshots below).
This is EvidentlySo’s sample PDF, made from made-up messages.
It isn’t a registered transcript.
Technical details
SHA-256 fingerprint of this file:
No match: this file isn’t a registered EvidentlySo PDF
This file’s fingerprint doesn’t match any PDF registered with EvidentlySo. Usually that means one of three things:
- The file was changed after it was generated. Even opening it in a PDF viewer and pressing Save, adding a highlight, comment or signature, using “Print to PDF”, or combining it with other files changes it.
- It was just generated. Registration happens within a minute or so of the PDF being made, once the computer is online. Try again shortly.
- Registration didn’t finish on the computer that made it. The app shows “Couldn’t be registered” for that PDF.
A no-match result doesn’t mean anyone tampered with the messages. Most often the file was simply saved or stamped somewhere along the way (see When an unaltered transcript shows no match below).
What to do. Ask the person who provided the PDF for the copy exactly as EvidentlySo generated it. It’s saved in their cloud storage. Then verify that copy here.
What doesn’t change a PDF
Renaming, emailing, downloading, copying or moving the file leaves it unchanged and it will still verify.
Couldn’t check right now
We couldn’t reach the EvidentlySo registry. This says nothing about the PDF. Check your internet connection and try again. If the problem persists, contact us.
This isn’t a PDF
Select the PDF file itself. If it’s in cloud storage, download it to this device first.
Too many checks in a short time
This says nothing about the PDF. Wait a minute, then try again.
The checker isn’t available where you are
This says nothing about the PDF or whether it’s registered.
Couldn’t read this file
Nothing was checked. If the file is in cloud storage, download it to this device first, then select it again.
This browser can’t check PDFs. Try a recent version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
Checking a PDF needs JavaScript. Turn it on for this page, or try another browser. If it’s on, reload the page.
How verification works
- The PDF is registered when it’s made. The moment the EvidentlySo app generates a PDF, it sends the file’s digital fingerprint to the registry, which notes the date and time it first arrives. No messages, names or phone numbers are sent.
- You select the PDF here. Your browser calculates the same fingerprint from the file you have, on your own device.
- The two are compared. If they match exactly, the file is identical to the one registered, and this page shows when it was registered and, when one was registered with it, its Transcript ID. If even a single byte of the PDF has changed, they won’t match.
The fingerprint is a SHA-256 hash: a 64-character code calculated from every byte of the file. It’s the standard method for showing whether two files are exactly the same, and anyone can repeat the calculation with free tools and get the same code.
When an unaltered transcript shows no match
Verification checks the file, not the messages. Any change to the file gives a different fingerprint, even when no message has been touched. These everyday steps change the file and cause a no match:
- Opening the PDF in a viewer and pressing Save, even without making any edits.
- Adding highlights, comments, a signature or redactions.
- Exhibit stickers, Bates numbers, or a court e-filing system’s stamp or header.
- “Print to PDF”, scanning a printed copy, or combining the PDF with other documents.
- Some email and messaging apps that compress or convert attachments.
In each case, the original as generated still verifies. Keep that copy, check it here before you mark it up, and verify it again whenever the marked-up version is questioned.
Verification checks the file, not the messages. Keep the original as generated, unmarked.
What verification shows, and what it doesn’t
It shows that the PDF is the exact file registered with EvidentlySo, unchanged since the date and time it was registered.
It doesn’t show who made the PDF, that the conversation is complete, or that the messages are true. A transcript contains the messages the phone made available to the app when they were saved. Messages deleted from the phone before they were first saved aren’t included. How EvidentlySo transcripts work
What a transcript may not include
A transcript holds what the phone’s message records hold. The gaps below aren’t a change to the PDF, and verification can’t show them.
Messages that failed to send
It is possible that some messages recorded in this PDF failed to send. Not all delivery data is made available by the Android message records. Where it is available, it is designated as “Did not send”.
A message without that mark may still not have been delivered. To confirm delivery, compare with the other person’s copy of the conversation.
A verified PDF is the exact file registered with EvidentlySo. It isn’t proof that every message in it was delivered.
Chat (RCS) messages sent from the phone
Since about mid-2026, some versions of Google Messages don’t save the chat messages you send where other apps can read them. No app can include a message the phone never saved. Chat messages received are not affected.
Encrypted chats (RCS)
Some encrypted chat messages may be missing from a PDF.
Reactions, replies, edits and link previews
Android’s message storage doesn’t keep reactions, replies, edits, unsent messages, group changes or link previews, so PDFs from an Android phone don’t show them. A reaction sent as an ordinary text, like “Liked …”, shows as a message. What’s in a PDF
Deleted messages
Messages deleted from the phone before they were first saved aren’t included. A message deleted after it was saved stays in the snapshots. All known limits
The snapshots
Each PDF is made from the messages saved in the app for one conversation. They’re kept in the cloud storage account of the person who made the PDF, and saving only ever adds to them. If you need to go further, for example with an expert, ask that person for their snapshots and, if needed, the phone.
Questions
If a PDF verifies, were all its messages delivered?
Not necessarily. Verification shows the file is unchanged. Delivery comes from the phone’s records, which don’t always record a failed send. Where they do, the PDF marks the message “Did not send”.
If a PDF verifies, does it hold the whole conversation?
Not necessarily. It holds the messages, in the dates shown on page 1, that the phone made available when they were saved. Sent chat messages, encrypted chats and deleted messages can be missing, as described above.
Can I verify a printed or scanned copy?
No. Only the PDF file itself can be checked. Ask for the copy exactly as EvidentlySo generated it and select that file here.
Does “No match” mean the messages were changed?
Not necessarily. It means the file is different from the one registered. Saving, stamping or marking up the PDF is the usual cause. When an unaltered transcript shows no match
Related: For attorneys · FAQ
Our servers never receive or store message content. This page is general information, not legal advice. Whether a document is admitted into evidence is up to the court.