Archive.today saves the URL. Receipts.you signs the screenshot.
Archive.today (and the Wayback Machine, and Conifer) work by visiting a URL with a crawler and storing the rendered page server-side. The artifact is a third-party copy of what was at that URL when the crawl ran. Receipts.you takes a different approach: you screenshot what you see in your browser, and the receipt cryptographically proves your screenshot file existed at the timestamp shown. Both are useful; they cover different failure modes. The URL archive proves 'this page existed at this URL when archive.today crawled it.' The receipt proves 'this image file existed in this exact form at this timestamp.' If the dispute is about the page, use the archive. If the dispute is about your screenshot, use the receipt. Investigative work usually wants both.
Archive.today is unbeatable for capturing a public URL you can hand to a third-party crawler. Receipts.you is unbeatable for sealing screenshots of DMs, login-walled content, paywalled content, mobile-app content, or anything the archive crawler can't reach. Use both when you have time; pick the right one when you don't.
Pick receipts.you if…
- The content is behind a login (DM, private group, paywall, app-only).
- You need to seal in seconds, before the post is deleted.
- The image is from a mobile app where archive crawlers can't reach.
- You want the proof to be cryptographic — verifiable offline, no dependency on archive.today staying up.
- You're sealing a screenshot you already have (no live URL to give a crawler).
Pick Archive.today if…
- The content is on a publicly-reachable URL.
- You want a server-side rendered copy of the page (HTML, links, embedded assets), not just a pixel screenshot.
- You're documenting for a discussion where 'a third-party crawler saw this URL' carries more weight than 'I took this screenshot.'
- You need to share the archived URL widely (archive.today URLs work in any browser without setup).
Axis by axis
| Axis | receipts.you | Archive.today | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it captures | Pixel bytes of your screenshot. | Rendered HTML + assets at a public URL. | both / tie |
| Works behind login | Yes — you screenshot what you see, then seal. | No — the crawler doesn't have your credentials. | receipts.you |
| Works on mobile-app content | Yes — screenshot the app, then seal. | No — no URL the crawler can visit. | receipts.you |
| Speed | ~10 seconds end-to-end. | 30 seconds to a few minutes depending on archive load. | receipts.you |
| Cryptographic proof | ECDSA signature + OpenTimestamps anchor. | Server-side timestamp + crawl record; not externally cryptographically anchored. | receipts.you |
| Survives if archive shuts down | Yes — OpenTimestamps anchor is on a public chain we can't influence. | No — depends on archive.today's continued operation. | receipts.you |
| Captures live links / interactive elements | No — just a static image. | Yes — HTML with clickable links preserved. | the other tool |
| Public shareability | Receipt URL is shareable; receipt page links to the image. | Archive URL is shareable; the page itself opens in any browser. | both / tie |
| Reputation in journalism | New (2026) — building. | Established — widely accepted in journalism and academic citation. | the other tool |
| Cost | Free. | Free (donation-supported). | both / tie |
Specific questions about this comparison
Should I always use both?
For high-stakes evidence on public URLs, yes — archive.today for the URL, receipts.you for your specific screenshot. The two together cover the failure modes neither covers alone (archive.today can fail to crawl; your screenshot can be challenged; both together is two independent proofs).
If the archive captures it, why do I need a receipt?
Two reasons. (1) The archive captures the URL at archive-crawl time, which may be after the deletion or before key changes — your screenshot may be the only thing that captured the exact state at your specific viewing moment. (2) The archive's chain of custody depends on trusting archive.today; the receipt is independent and verifiable offline. Belt and braces.
Will receipts.you ever archive URLs the way archive.today does?
No — we're deliberately scope-limited to screenshot files. URL archiving is a different engineering problem (crawler infrastructure, asset rehosting, link rewriting) and would distract from the cryptographic-proof primary mission. We recommend archive.today for that need.
Can I seal an archive.today URL as evidence?
You can screenshot the archive.today page and seal that screenshot. The receipt then proves 'this archive.today rendering existed in this state at this timestamp on my screen.' Combined with the archive URL itself, you have a triple chain: page → archive → sealed screenshot of archive.
Is the Wayback Machine the same as archive.today?
Operationally similar; different organizations. The Wayback Machine is operated by the Internet Archive (a US nonprofit); archive.today is operated separately and is more aggressive about crawling content the Wayback won't (paywalls, social-media posts marked no-archive). Both are URL-side; the comparison with receipts.you is essentially identical for both.
Two tools, one chain of custody.
Archive.today fixes the URL, receipts.you fixes the screenshot. Use whichever your evidence shape needs — or both.