Step-by-step guide

How to capture a web page as evidence

To capture a web page as evidence in 2026, open it in Chrome or Edge, click Capture page snapshot in the ProofSnap side panel and download the ZIP. The package holds a full-page screenshot, the page's rendered HTML, an evidence PDF, a SHA-256 manifest signed with RSA-4096 and the timestamps your plan includes. Anyone can verify it later.

By Radim Motycka, Founder and Lead Engineer of ProofSnap, who built the capture pipeline this guide describes ·

Clicks needed

Two (capture and download)

What gets captured

The tab you are looking at

Optional

Video, eIDAS, network archive

Before you start

  • ProofSnap is installed in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Install it here.
  • You are signed in and have a subscription plan or SnapPack credits.
  • The page shows exactly what you want to keep: the right post, comment, listing or profile, open and fully loaded.

New to ProofSnap? Install it first: getting started.

Step 1

Open the page and the ProofSnap side panel

Open the web page you want to capture in a normal tab and make it the active tab. ProofSnap always captures the tab you are looking at. Then click the ProofSnap icon in the toolbar to open the side panel and check that you are signed in.

  1. 1The page. Make sure it shows what you need: you are signed in if the content is behind a login, and the right post, listing or profile is open.
  2. 2ProofSnap icon. Opens the side panel. If you do not see the icon, open the puzzle-piece menu (Extensions) and pin ProofSnap.
  3. 3Available captures. How many captures are left on your plan this month. SnapPack credits show next to it in gray. The rows below show file certifications and, with the matching plan or pack, eIDAS and video captures.
The page you capture stays on the left, and the ProofSnap side panel opens on the right. The blue Capture page snapshot button is where step 2 continues. Side panel built from the extension's own interface; plan and numbers are examples.

Step 2

Find the capture button and its options

Under the account card sits the big blue Capture page snapshot button, and under it a list of options. With the options off, one click captures the whole page. Read steps 3 through 5 first if you need any of them, because the settings take effect the moment you click.

  1. 1Capture page snapshot. Starts the capture of the active tab. The button turns gray when you have no captures left on your plan or in your credits.
  2. 2Case, court forms, language. Optional details for the evidence document (see step 3).
  3. 3Capture switches. What exactly gets captured and how (see steps 4 and 5).
Default state: every switch is off.

Step 3, optional

Case details, court forms and evidence language

Three optional rows add your case details, a US court declaration and the language of the evidence document to the package. They work exactly as in the File Certifier. Click a row to open it.

  1. 1Case & examiner details. A case or matter reference and the examiner's name (up to 120 characters each), plus a short note (up to 500 characters). They appear on the evidence document and in chain_of_custody.json. When the row is collapsed, the reference and the name stay visible next to its title.
  2. 2Court filing forms. Switch on US self-authentication certification (FRE 902) only for a US federal court. It adds rule_902_certification.pdf, a declaration with the capture details filled in, which you complete and sign. Hand the signed copy over on its own (see how to complete the declaration), and leave the copy in the package untouched. The declaration is always in English. The switch is off by default, and ProofSnap remembers your choice.
  3. 3Evidence language. The language of the evidence document and the provenance certificate. It defaults to the language of the side panel, and you can pick any of the 29 languages.
Example values.

Step 4, optional

Choose what to capture: full page or visible area

Up to four switches decide what goes into the package: Capture visible area only, Record capture video, Forensic mode and, when your plan or credits include it, Include EU Qualified Timestamp (eIDAS). The small (i) icon next to each one shows a short explanation when you hover over it.

  1. 1Capture visible area only. Captures only the part of the page that is on screen. Off by default: ProofSnap scrolls through the page and stitches a full-page screenshot.
  2. 2Record capture video. Adds a video recording (see step 5).
  3. 3Forensic mode. Adds a complete archive of the page's network layer: every HTTP request and response (network.har), a WARC copy of the page, all loaded resources and the details of the site's TLS certificate (issuer, validity, protocol). To do this, ProofSnap attaches the browser debugger, so Chrome shows a bar saying the tab is being debugged. Available on the Professional plan and above; on Essential and on SnapPack-only accounts the switch is gray with an Upgrade to enable link. See how to use forensic mode for details.
  4. 4Include EU Qualified Timestamp (eIDAS). Adds a qualified electronic timestamp to the manifest (the list of file hashes) from Disig a.s., a Qualified Trust Service Provider on the EU Trusted List. Article 41(2) of the eIDAS Regulation reads: "A qualified electronic time stamp shall enjoy the presumption of the accuracy of the date and the time it indicates and the integrity of the data to which the date and time are bound." The number on the right shows how many qualified timestamps you have left. The switch comes with the Enterprise and Company plans and with an eIDAS or Video SnapPack. When a click will use a paid credit, a Will use: line under the capture button says so before you start.

On the Essential plan

The eIDAS counter value is an example.

Step 5, optional

Record a video of the capture

Switch on Record capture video when the page moves: a video plays, a feed loads as you scroll, or you need to show how you got to the content. Three modes appear. When you start, the browser asks which tab, window or screen to share. The video evidence guide covers each mode in detail.

  1. 1Record capture video. The gray note shows the maximum length. It is 5 minutes by default and 10 minutes on Enterprise, Company or with eIDAS or Video SnapPack credits. With a Video SnapPack credit and its long-video option on, it is up to 75 minutes with sound.
  2. 2Recording mode. Auto records ProofSnap capturing the page with one click; the recording runs about a minute. Manual is for playing a video on the page: click Start recording, play it, then click Stop & capture evidence. Session covers several tabs: every http(s) tab you visit while recording gets its own screenshot, HTML, metadata and evidence document.
  3. 3Reload page before capture. On by default, so the package records the server's fresh response headers. Turn it off when a reload would lose what you set up, such as a selected filter or a video paused at the right second.
  4. 4Start recording. In Manual and Session modes, the capture button becomes Start recording. During recording, it turns red and shows the elapsed time.
Manual mode selected: the button now reads Start recording.

Step 6

Click Capture page snapshot and wait

Click the button and leave the tab alone until the button is blue again. ProofSnap scrolls the page by itself and puts the screenshot together; scrolling or switching tabs while it works interferes with the capture.

  1. 1Refreshing page... ProofSnap reloads the page first so it can record the server's response headers. It skips the reload on WhatsApp Web, Facebook and Airbnb, in Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude chats, and when you capture the visible area only.
  2. 2Capturing... Screenshot, HTML, text, metadata, DNS and WHOIS lookups, the evidence document, the signed manifest and any timestamps. A long page takes longer than a short one.

If something goes wrong, a red message appears above the button with a way to try again.

Top of the capture area. First the page reloads, then the capture runs; the switches are locked while it runs.

Step 7

Download the evidence package

When the capture is done, a table of files and a Download zip file button appear under the options. Download the ZIP before you close the side panel: the package exists only in your browser.

  1. 1File table. Every file in the package, with a short description. The blue icon in the Action column downloads that single file, for example to look at the evidence document first. Files that exist only in some captures, such as the eIDAS timestamp or the video, appear when they are in the package.
  2. 2Download now. The package exists only in your browser and is not stored on ProofSnap servers. Closing the side panel deletes it for good.
  3. 3Download zip file. Saves the whole package as one ZIP with a name like proofsnap_20261014_153012.zip, with the date and time of the capture. This ZIP is your evidence: keep it as it is.
Lower part of the capture area after a capture. Professional plan with eIDAS SnapPack credits, eIDAS off, no video, forensic mode off.

Step 8

What is inside the evidence ZIP

Hand over the ZIP exactly as you downloaded it. Copy files out of it for reading, but do not edit, re-save or re-zip them: every file is listed with its SHA-256 hash in manifest.json, so a changed file no longer matches. The ProofSnap evidence PDF can be produced in any of 29 languages, while the JSON records stay in English. For a file-by-file walkthrough, see how to read an evidence package.

evidence.pdf
The evidence document to read and print: the screenshot, the address, the time, the technical details and your case details, in the evidence language you chose.
provenance_certificate.pdf
A short summary of the checks made during the capture.
screenshot.jpeg
The full-page screenshot, or the visible area if you chose that.
c2pa.json
Content Credentials on the screenshot, when the signing service signs it.
page.html, page.mhtml, domtextcontent.txt
The page's HTML as the browser rendered it, a single-file archive of the page, and its readable text.
images/, images.json
The images the page displayed, each with its SHA-256 hash.
metadata.json
The technical record: address, browser and system, DNS results from two resolvers, WHOIS, HTTP response headers and more.
chain_of_custody.json, forensic_log.json, forensic_log_summary.txt
Who captured what, when and how, with every step recorded in a hash chain, plus a plain-text summary.
manifest.json, manifest.sig, publickey.pem
The list of all files with their SHA-256 hashes, its RSA-4096 signature and the key to check it.
manifest.json.ots
The Bitcoin timestamp (OpenTimestamps). It shows that the package existed no later than the moment of anchoring. Included on every plan except Essential; on Essential, only when the capture uses an eIDAS or Video SnapPack credit.
verification/
verify.sh for macOS and Linux, verify.ps1 for Windows, and a plain-text guide, so a third party can re-check the hashes and the signature on their own computer.
Only when switched on or available
  • eIDAS: manifest.json.tsr and eidas_validation.json
  • Video: capture_video.webm or .mp4
  • Forensic mode: capture.warc, network.har and the TLS certificate details
  • US court declaration: rule_902_certification.pdf
  • Session mode: a tabs/ folder with a subfolder for each visited tab
The same capture as in step 7, opened in a file manager.

Step 9

Verify the package later

Anyone can check the package at any time: you in the side panel, or the opposing party and the court in the ProofSnap Trust Verifier on this website, with no account needed. For the Bitcoin timestamp, wait a few hours after the capture. Every check is explained in how to verify an evidence package.

  1. 1Upload the ZIP. Open the ProofSnap Trust Verifier in the side panel and drop the ZIP onto it.
  2. 2Verify zip file. Runs all checks.
  3. 3Verdict. Integrity: match means the files match the manifest and the manifest matches its signature. Integrity: modified means something in the package was changed or is missing.
  4. 4Show technical verification. Shows the details of every check: hashes, signature, the Bitcoin block of the anchor, the eIDAS timestamp and the chain of custody.
Verifier in the side panel. The Trust Verifier on the website checks the same ZIP.

Common questions

Capture your first page

Install ProofSnap, open the page and follow the steps above.

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Also available for Microsoft Edge

Certifying a file instead of a page? See how to certify a file.

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