Reading a result

A result has four possible outcomes. It is shown in two places: as the heading of the result card and as a status chip in the header of the asset view, and as a seal on the tile in the library, which the sidebar calls „Library“.

The signed-in product is in German, so its wording is quoted in German here, with the English rendering in italics.

The four outcomes

The same file that carries „Signiert · Aussteller unbekannt“ on the result card carries „Nicht vertrauenswürdig“ on its tile.

„Nicht vertrauenswürdig“ says the signer is not on the list. About the file itself it says nothing, in either direction.

The three states before a result

Before a result the tile knows three states:

• „Ausstehend“ (Pending) — uploaded, but not yet checked. The check can be started from the tile menu or from the editor.
• „Verify läuft …“ (Verification running …) — the check is running in the background and the status updates itself. It finishes even with the tab closed.
• „Verify fehlgeschlagen“ (Verification failed) — the check could not be completed. Trying again is the right move here.

In the header of the asset view the three collapse into a single chip: „Nicht verifiziert“ (Not verified). No result exists yet. Which of the three states is behind it is what the seal on the tile tells you.

„Nicht verifiziert“ and „Nicht vertrauenswürdig“ are two different things: one says the check is still outstanding, the other is a finished verdict about the issuer.

„Ausstehend“ (Pending) and „Ohne Nachweis“ (Without a record)

„Ausstehend“ means: not yet checked. A result is missing.

„Ohne Nachweis“ means: checked, and the file carries no Content Credentials. That is a settled result; checking again changes nothing.

The tile menu therefore offers the check only for „Ausstehend“ and for „Verify fehlgeschlagen“ — and even there only while the original file is still held. Once it has been deleted at the end of the retention period, the entry is gone as well.

The result card

On the „Prüfen“ (Check) page the outcome is the card's heading, with a sentence below saying what it means. Beside it stand three checks, each with a tick, a warning sign, a cross or a dash and a sentence of its own:

• „Seit der Signatur unverändert“ (Unchanged since signing) — does the file's content still match its signature?
• „Entspricht dem C2PA-Standard“ (Follows the C2PA standard) — are the Content Credentials built the way the standard requires?
• „Aussteller auf der Trust-Liste“ (Issuer on the trust list) — is the certificate valid, and is the signer on the official list?

A dash means „nicht bestätigt“ (not confirmed): the question could not be answered, for instance because the trust check did not run. That is no charge against the file.

Below follows the section „Content Credentials“. Where the file is already in your library, it opens with a line linking to the asset (see Checking a file quickly). Then the details from the Content Credentials: „Signiert von“ (Signed by), „Erstellt mit“ (Created with), „Signiert am“ (Signed on) and the content classification under „Quelle“ (Source). A sentence below says whose details these are and what of them was checked. Where the Content Credentials are not valid, „Quelle“ reads „nicht übernommen“ (not adopted).

Three tabs close the card: „Herkunftskette“ (Provenance chain) and „Bearbeitungsschritte“ (Editing steps) — see Provenance chain and components — and „Technische Details“ (Technical details) with the check codes, the SHA-256 checksum, the „Größe“ (Size), the certificate's serial number and the button „Manifest herunterladen“ (Download manifest).

„Fehlerhaft“ does not mean „manipulated“. Content Credentials can be invalid while the file is unchanged: some programs do not write them the way the C2PA standard requires, and record two direct predecessors, for instance, where one is allowed. Where the content no longer matches the signature, the result reads „Nach dem Signieren verändert“ (Altered after signing) instead. What exactly is wrong is said in words by the checks and the provenance chain; the check codes sit under „Technische Details“.

Where a file refers to Content Credentials in the cloud, verstag fetches them and checks the file against them. If that fails, the section „Content Credentials“ carries the notice „Herkunftskette nicht abrufbar“.

A change is noticed only on a file that keeps its Content Credentials. Strip them out while editing — which many tools do in passing — and the file is indistinguishable from one that never had any.

Valid is not yet recognised

The first two checks say: the signature is intact, and the Content Credentials are well formed. Nothing beyond that. A self-signed manifest passes both — anybody can produce one.

The question of trust is answered by the third check, with a second pass against the official list of recognised issuers and timestamp authorities. Only an explicitly positive signal leads to „Verifiziert“; without one the file counts as not trustworthy — that includes the case where the pass never ran.

What the sentences of the third check mean is in The six notice severities.

„Von verstag signiert“ (Signed by verstag)

A chip with that wording may stand below the result. It means that verstag created and signed the current manifest of this file.

The chip appears for files from any verstag customer, not only for those in your workspace, and it says only who produced the current manifest. It also requires the Content Credentials to be valid.

The „KI-Quelle“ (AI source) chip

A second status chip may stand beside the result: „KI-Quelle“. It appears for exactly two values taken from the file — „Mit generativer KI erzeugt“ (Created with generative AI) and „Mit generativer KI bearbeitet“ (Edited with generative AI).

The value comes from the file itself and is inherited on import; verstag never invents it. Its absence is not a statement about how the file came about — most files do not carry one.