Content provenance refers to the recorded history of a piece of digital content—such as an image, video, audio recording, or document—from the moment it is created through all subsequent modifications or uses. Content Credentials provide a cryptographically secure way to capture and express content provenance. They can include information about how the content was created, what tools or processes were used, when and where it was made, and how it has changed over time.
What are Content Credentials?
In the context of C2PA, content provenance is captured and preserved using Content Credentials, the technical standard the C2PA produces, providing tamper-evident, cryptographically signed data structures that travel with the asset. This ensures that users can verify the authenticity and integrity of digital media, helping to build trust and transparency across the content ecosystem.
What makes Content Credentials a key component to helping users make sense of what they see online?
People are increasingly concerned about being able to identify content that has been generated or edited by generative AI systems, or conversely, content that is generally unadulterated since its capture by e.g. a camera. Content provenance enables them to answer that question, which empowers them to decide how useful or reliable a piece of content is for their use case.
How can consumers of C2PA data be assured the data was captured correctly?
Consumers can trust that C2PA data was captured correctly because each Content Credential (also known as a C2PA Manifest) is digitally signed by a trusted implementation. These credentials include cryptographic hashes of both the asset and the provenance data. Any modification—intentional or accidental—will break this cryptographic linkage, signalling tampering.
Additionally, the C2PA Conformance Program ensures that products creating Content Credentials meet stringent technical and security requirements and are vetted by the Administering Authority. These products are then listed in the C2PA Conforming Products List, providing visibility into which implementations are trusted.
How are signing certificates issued to implementers of the C2PA specification?
Signing certificates are issued by Certification Authorities (CAs) listed on the C2PA Trust List. To obtain one, a conforming Generator Product must undergo a conformance and security evaluation, be accepted into the program, and may need to present dynamic evidence (e.g. hardware-backed attestation) during the certificate enrollment process.
The certificate issued (the C2PA Claim Signing Certificate) includes a field denoting the product’s Assurance Level, which corresponds to the level of scrutiny it passed during evaluation.
Does validation of C2PA data ensure that the entire chain of provenance is known, including ingredients?
C2PA supports multi-source provenance by including “ingredient” metadata—references to other assets used to compose the current asset. Each ingredient can include its own Content Credential.
While the primary asset’s Content Credential can validate that the ingredients were checked at the time of use, the full verification of each ingredient’s provenance requires access to its data. Without it, only the presence of prior validation (not the complete ingredient chain) can be confirmed.
Are Content Credentials a form of DRM? How do they differ?
No, Content Credentials are not a form of DRM (Digital Rights Management). DRM restricts how users can access or use content. In contrast, Content Credentials are about transparency and integrity—they record and preserve the provenance of digital media without limiting its use.
Content Credentials are open, tamper-evident, and user-verifiable. They focus on enabling trust rather than enforcing control.
Is the C2PA data model complementary to IPTC metadata?
Yes. The C2PA model is designed to interoperate with standard metadata formats like IPTC, XMP, and EXIF. It can encapsulate these metadata types as assertions within a Content Credential, making them tamper-evident and cryptographically verifiable.
This interoperability ensures continuity for existing metadata workflows while enhancing security and trust.
What happens if C2PA metadata is stripped from the media it represents?
While C2PA Manifests are typically embedded in the asset, they can be separated. To address this, C2PA supports durable credentials via soft bindings—such as invisible watermarking or fingerprinting—that can help rediscover the associated Content Credential even if it’s removed from the file.
This is often referred to as “Durable Content Credentials,” providing resilience in cases where metadata is accidentally or intentionally stripped.
Can the C2PA technology be used in offline contexts? For example, with a camera device that is often not connected to the internet.
Yes. C2PA is designed to support offline workflows. Devices like cameras can securely generate and sign Content Credentials using locally stored cryptographic keys, without needing to be connected to the internet. Certificates can be provisioned in advance or renewed later when connectivity resumes.
Is licensing required to use the C2PA technology? Are there patents associated with it?
No license fees are required. The C2PA specification is released as an open standard under a royalty-free license, enabling implementation by both open-source and proprietary products. There are no patents associated with the techniques of the C2PA specification, and C2PA members have committed to make their contributions freely available under the terms of the specification.
What is the C2PA Trust List, and how does it ensure trustworthiness in the ecosystem?
The C2PA Trust List is a curated list of Certification Authorities (CAs) that are authorized to issue signing certificates for Generator Products. Only products evaluated and approved by the Conformance Program are eligible to receive certificates from these trusted CAs.
This ensures that any signed Content Credential can be cryptographically verified against a known and approved trust anchor.
How much does it cost to obtain a C2PA conforming certificate?
Costs may vary depending on the Certification Authority issuing the certificate and the product’s desired Assurance Level. While the C2PA Conformance Program defines technical and policy requirements, the actual fees are set by individual CAs and subject to their commercial terms.
Do we need to join the C2PA to use the specification in our products or services?
No. You can implement the C2PA specification without joining the organization. However, to receive a Claim Signing Certificate and be listed on the official Conforming Products List, your product must undergo evaluation and legal onboarding through the C2PA Conformance Program.
How secure is C2PA? Can it be easily removed or faked?
C2PA is built on strong cryptographic foundations: SHA-256 hashes, X.509 certificates, and digital signatures. Any tampering with the asset or its metadata invalidates the cryptographic hash and signature, making alterations immediately detectable.
While metadata can be removed inadvertently or intentionally, it is vital information for consumers, and recovery mechanisms such as soft bindings and cloud retrieval can be used to restore provenance data. Faking Content Credentials would require breaking current cryptographic standards—an infeasible task with today’s technology.
Does the presence of Content Credentials or C2PA data in a piece of digital content increase its size?
Yes, but only modestly. A typical Content Credential adds a small amount of data to the digital asset—often measured in kilobytes—depending on the number and complexity of assertions. For most images, videos, audio recordings, and documents, the size increase is negligible relative to the asset itself and is a reasonable tradeoff for added security and trust.
Can organizations or individuals use Content Credentials to achieve attribution of their content?
The core C2PA Content Credentials specification does not support attribution of content to individuals or organizations, so that it can remain maximally privacy-preserving. However, a few user communities are developing extensions to the core specification that do allow for attribution to individuals or organizations, where the risks of disclosing creator identity are well-understood.
Are Content Credentials available globally?
Yes, Content Credentials are freely available everywhere, with implementations coming from around the world.
How can we join the C2PA?
To apply, please visit https://c2pa.org/membership/ or contact membership@c2pa.org.