it-happened.org Leave quickly

In development · not ready for real records

Write it down now.
Show it later.

A way to seal a private record of what happened to you, in your own words, so that one day, if you choose, you can show those exact words already existed on a date anyone can check.

Why this exists

Christine Blasey Ford testified before the U.S. Senate about an assault she said a Supreme Court nominee had committed 36 years earlier, when she was 15. Again and again she was asked why she had waited so long, and whether her memory could be trusted after so many years.

The only earlier record she had was a set of notes her therapist wrote in 2012. Someone else had written them, they didn't name anyone, and one detail differed from her account. Instead of settling anything, they became one more thing to argue about.

Whatever anyone concluded about her case, many people who are hurt face the same question when they finally speak: how do we know you didn't make this up later?

Nobody should have to face it empty-handed.

How it will work

  1. Write

    On your own computer, write what happened in your own words. It stays on your device.

  2. Seal

    Your words are locked away, and a public fingerprint is dated in a way nobody can fake. Not even you can swap the words later.

  3. Decide, or don't

    It stays sealed until you choose to open it. You never have to open it, show it to anyone, or report anything.

What a sealed record can and cannot show

It can show

  • These exact words were sealed by a certain date
  • They were not changed after that date
  • Nobody, including you, swapped in different words later

It cannot show

  • That what you wrote is true
  • That a specific person did something
  • When the events themselves happened

We say this plainly because a record is only worth something if people trust it, and they will trust it more because it doesn't claim too much.

You stay in control

Not ready yet

We're still designing this tool and having it reviewed. Please don't use it for a real record yet. We're looking for volunteer reviewers in cryptography, law, child safeguarding, trauma-informed design and security.