When the harasser hits unsend the second after you read it.
Instagram, Twitter, Discord, Snapchat all support unsend. A harasser sends something — a threat, a slur, an unsolicited image, a coordinated pile-on — sees the read receipt, panics, hits unsend. The platform shows you 'this message was deleted' where the conversation used to be. If you screenshotted fast enough, you have the message. But a screenshot of a deleted message is exactly the kind of evidence that gets dismissed: 'they could have edited that' is the immediate reply. A sealed receipt fixes the chain of custody: the screenshot file is hashed, signed, anchored externally — verifiable by anyone, including the platform's trust-and-safety team and (if it goes that far) law enforcement. The receipt doesn't make the harasser unsend-proof. It makes you screenshot-proof.
When this scenario hits you
- Instagram DMs where someone sends a threat then immediately unsends — the chat now shows 'message deleted' and your only evidence is the screenshot you took.
- Twitter / X DMs with a coordinated harassment campaign — accounts pile on, then mass-delete when they realize you've reported, leaving you with screenshots and no source.
- Snapchat where the entire model is 'message disappears' — your only evidence is the screenshot you grabbed before it expired.
- Discord where a moderator (or a public-facing person) deletes a slur from their own server — and the bystanders all saw it but you have the only image.
- Workplace messaging (Slack, Teams) where someone says something inappropriate and immediately deletes it; HR wants evidence and the platform's own retention has a delay.
What you actually do
- 01
Screenshot the moment you see the message — before you reply, before you breathe.
Power+volume down on mobile, full-screen capture on desktop. Include the sender's name, the platform UI elements, the timestamps the platform shows. Don't crop. The more context inside the frame, the harder the screenshot is to dismiss.
- 02
Seal it on receipts.you/seal as the next thing you do.
Ten seconds. Your browser hashes the file locally; only the hash is posted. Within thirty minutes the OpenTimestamps anchor lands and the timestamp becomes externally provable. From that moment forward, the chain of custody is cryptographic, not anecdotal.
- 03
Report through the platform — and attach the receipt URL.
Instagram, Twitter, Discord, Snapchat all accept evidence in the report flow. Past the screenshot AND the receipt URL. T&S teams increasingly recognize sealed receipts as higher-trust evidence because verification is one-click; they don't have to take your word.
- 04
If you go to police, bring the stamped image and the receipt URL together.
Officers won't always understand the cryptography on the spot, but the receipt URL is a public, dated, signed page they can pass to a digital-forensics analyst. Most departments now have someone who can verify the cryptography. Print the receipt page; it carries timestamp, hash, and signature.
- 05
Keep the original screenshot file alongside the receipt URL.
The receipt verifies the file; you need the file to verify. Save both somewhere durable (cloud backup with strong auth, paper printout, USB). If the harasser later claims the screenshot was edited, anyone can drop your file on /verify and confirm the bytes match the original seal.
Why the receipt holds
- The OpenTimestamps anchor places your hash in a public-blockchain transaction within thirty minutes. The chain doesn't rewrite; no one (including us) can change the timestamp afterward.
- Both the original PNG and the QR-stamped composite are hashed. If the harasser later claims you pasted a real QR onto a fake screenshot, the verifier returns mismatch immediately.
- The perceptual hash layer covers the realistic case where you screenshot the DM, send it to your lawyer over WhatsApp, and WhatsApp recompresses it. The verdict is still recompressed (same image, re-encoded), not mismatch.
- Verification works offline with our published public key + the receipt JSON + the OpenTimestamps proof. Your evidence survives our company.
Where the receipt stops
- It doesn't prove the named sender was actually the human behind the account. Account compromise, spoofing, and shared logins all happen — the platform's own records are the better source for who-controlled-the-account.
- It doesn't make the platform respond faster. T&S triage queues are what they are; the receipt just makes your case stronger when it's reviewed.
- It doesn't prevent the harasser from doxxing or escalating. If you're in danger, the right next step is a hotline or your local authorities, not a receipt.
Specific questions about this scenario
What if I screenshot but the platform also blocks screenshots (Snapchat, some Instagram features)?
Use a second device — phone B photographs phone A's screen. The screenshot won't be 'pixel-perfect' to the original, but a sealed photo of your phone screen is still strong evidence of what was visible. The receipt timestamp + the visual content together are persuasive.
Will Instagram / Twitter / Discord accept this in their report flow?
Yes — all three accept image evidence in the report path. None of them currently have a 'receipt URL' field, so paste it into the description or supplementary-evidence field. T&S agents who understand cryptography (most do) weigh sealed evidence higher than raw screenshots because authentication is automatic.
Should I confront the harasser with the receipt URL?
Tactical, not technical. Sometimes posting 'here's the receipt' deters further harassment because the receipt makes denial pointless. Sometimes it escalates. If you're unsure, follow your safety-planning advisor's call — receipts are evidence, not a strategy.
How long should I keep the receipt and the screenshot?
Indefinitely. The receipt itself is permanent on our side (we don't delete) and externally anchored (so even if we vanish, the timestamp verifies). Storage of the screenshot file is your responsibility — at least one cloud backup with two-factor auth, ideally also a local copy on encrypted storage.
Can I seal multiple deleted-DM screenshots in one batch?
Yes — each gets its own receipt. There's no per-day limit at the rates relevant to a single harassment incident. Seal them as you receive them; don't wait to batch days later, because earlier timestamps strengthen the chronology.
Related scenarios
Screenshot. Seal. Report.
Ten seconds turn a deletable message into a permanent, signed, externally-anchored record. The unsend button doesn't save them anymore.