Generate an authenticity certificate for a completed phone collection. Each certificate provides a verifiable record of the collection, including data integrity verification, chain of custody, and a collection method statement.
Generate a certificate
Go to the Collection Requests page and scroll down to the AUTHENTICITY CERTIFICATES section below the Data Sources table.
If any completed phone collections do not yet have a certificate, a prompt shows how many are missing. Click Generate to create a certificate.
Manage your certificate
Once generated, the certificate appears with three action buttons.
Click PDF to download the full Authenticity Certificate. The certificate includes:
Collection Summary — Collection ID, date, duration, status, custodian name and email, and case reference
Source Device — Device model, OS version, and collection method (e.g., Logical Extraction: Device Present)
Conversations — Total conversations and messages collected, with date range
Data Integrity — SHA-256 cryptographic hash recorded at the point of acquisition and verified again at upload, confirming no data was altered
Certification — Statement that the certificate was generated automatically by the Hearsay platform and has not been manually edited
Verification — QR code and URL for independent online verification of the certificate
Appendix A: Chain of Custody — Timestamped log of every event from extraction code creation through certificate generation
Appendix B: Data Integrity — Full SHA-256 hashes at acquisition and upload, with match confirmation
Appendix C: Collection Method Statement — Plain-language and technical description of how the data was collected, including a non-alteration statement
Appendix D: Message Breakdown — Per-conversation breakdown showing conversation name, platform, message count, and date range
Verify
Click Verify to open the online certificate verification page. The page displays a VERIFIED badge along with the Certificate ID, collection date, custodian name, data hash (SHA-256), and items collected.
Remove
Deletes the certificate from the case.