Find answers to common questions about PDF authenticity checking.
HTPBE? (Has This PDF Been Edited?) detects whether a PDF was modified after it was created. Upload a file of up to 10 MB and get a verdict – Intact, Modified or Inconclusive – with the findings behind it.
HTPBE? stands for ‘Has This PDF Been Edited?’ Pronounce it letter by letter: H-T-P-B-E.
KYC platforms confirm who a person is. HTPBE? checks whether a specific PDF file was modified after it was generated. An identity can be real while a supporting document has been edited, so the two checks complement each other.
Yes. HTPBE? looks for evidence that an existing file was changed, so a document that was false from the start can show none. Confirm critical documents with the issuer.
No. HTPBE? checks one thing only: whether the file was changed after it was created. It does not confirm identity, does not check a document against the issuer’s records and does not judge whether the content is true.
It depends on the file. HTPBE? detects modification after creation, not fabricated content: a document that was false from the start carries no trace of later editing. Use it as one layer of a fraud check.
HTPBE? looks for evidence inside the file that it was changed after it was created, reports each finding by name, and returns Intact, Modified or Inconclusive. It reads the file, not the text of the document.
No. HTPBE? looks for evidence that an existing PDF was changed after it was created, so content that was false from the start can show none, and password-protected files cannot be analysed. Treat it as one layer in a fraud check.
PDF metadata is descriptive information stored inside the file: creation and modification dates, the creating and producing applications, the PDF version, and optional fields such as title and author. It is part of a file’s recorded history, but proves little on its own.
Creator is the application that authored the document; Producer is the application that wrote the PDF file. They often differ, and that is normal. The pair shows what kind of software is behind a file.
An incremental update is how a PDF records a change by appending it to the end of the file instead of rewriting it, so one file can hold several versions. Signing, form filling and annotating also use it, so presence alone is not an accusation.
Yes. No detection method is complete: content that was false from the start, changes that leave no structural trace, and unreadable or locked files fall outside what HTPBE? can flag. It returns Inconclusive instead of Intact where it cannot tell.
No. You don’t need a reference copy. Structural analysis reads the evidence already inside the file you were sent, so HTPBE? can return a verdict on a document you have never seen before and from a sender you can’t reach.
Yes – it is the main use case for lending teams. HTPBE? tells you whether a bank statement PDF was edited after it was generated and returns a verdict you can route on. It does not check balances, identity or income.
Payment confirmations are easy to fake, and a PDF of one is not proof that money moved. HTPBE? tells you whether the file was edited after it was generated; confirm the payment itself in your own bank or payment account.
Yes, but treat the result as a technical statement about the file, not legal proof. It shows whether the PDF was edited after it was generated. It does not replace a lawyer or a forensic expert for court use.
Read the evidence inside the one file you were sent. HTPBE? analyses a PDF’s internal history and tells you whether it was edited after it was generated – Intact, Modified or Inconclusive. It does not tell you whether the content is true or who sent it.
Check the file and then the facts. HTPBE? shows whether a bank statement PDF was edited after the bank produced it. It does not confirm the account holder’s identity or that the balance is true – for that, get the statement straight from the bank.
Most start by eyeballing logos, fonts and totals, which a careful forger can copy. Lenders increasingly add an automated file-integrity check through the API alongside identity and income verification, and route anything flagged to a human.
Check that the net pay, pay dates and employer details are consistent, then check how the file was produced. HTPBE? tells you whether the payslip PDF was edited after it was generated. It does not confirm that the employer or the salary is real.
The question has two halves. A tamper check shows whether the certificate PDF was edited after it was issued; whether the issuing body really awarded it only the issuer’s own records can answer. Use HTPBE? for the first and the issuer’s portal for the second.
Inconclusive does not mean forged. It means the file’s origin can’t vouch for it, so the check can’t clear it as Intact. Confirm the document with the issuer.
Intact: no evidence of post-creation modification. Modified: the file was changed after it was created. Inconclusive: the file’s origin can’t vouch for it, so the check can’t clear it. Intact does not mean authentic.
Results are private by default. The owner can switch a check to Public in the dashboard, and anyone with the link can then view the result without an account. The page shows the analysis, not the original PDF.
Legitimate actions change a file too: re-saving, signing, filling in forms, annotating. Modified means the file has a history beyond its first creation, not necessarily fraud. Check the findings.
Not by itself. HTPBE? reports that a file was changed after creation and names each finding, but it does not label a change as harmless. A re-save, a compression pass and a content edit are all changes to the file; the named findings show what kind of change was seen.
No. The results page shows the analysis metadata and findings, not the document, and it offers no download of the original. Keep your own copy of the file.
Every date and time is shown in UTC so that everyone sees the same absolute time, whatever timezone a PDF recorded its dates in. To get local time, add your UTC offset.
Usually clock drift: the device that created the file had an inaccurate clock. Look at the date together with the verdict and the document’s source, and check important documents independently.
The API returns JSON with a status of intact, modified or inconclusive, plus the named HTPBE_ markers behind a modified verdict. There is no numeric score – every verdict is explained. Analyze returns an id; the result endpoint returns the full object.
Every check costs one credit, from the web app or the API – both use the same balance. You fund it with a monthly plan (from $15 for 30 credits), a one-time pack ($5 for 8, $15 for 25) or the free credits. New accounts get 5 free credits on signup. Test API keys are free.
Yes. Test keys (htpbe_test_…) are free, unlimited and available on every plan, even before you subscribe. They return deterministic synthetic results for predefined test URLs and never use credits. They cannot analyze real documents.
A credit is the unit HTPBE? bills in: one check costs one credit, from the web app or the API. Credits come from a plan, a one-time pack or the 5 free credits, and they do not expire while your account is active.
Files up to 10 MB (10,485,760 bytes) are accepted, in the web app and through the API. Larger files are rejected with an error. Compressing or splitting a file creates a new file, so the verdict describes that copy.
Most checks finish in 2–5 seconds; large or complex PDFs can take 5–15 seconds. Downloading a file from a URL times out after 30 seconds and the analysis itself after 20 seconds.
No. HTPBE? analyses the structure of the file – metadata, structure, signatures and embedded content – not what the document says. It does no OCR and cannot tell you whether amounts, names or dates inside are correct.
HTPBE? accepts PDF files from version 1.0 to 2.0, including linearized files, forms, annotations and signed documents, up to 10 MB. It does not accept Word, Excel or image files. Password-protected files must be unlocked first.
It depends on how you submit it. Web uploads may be retained and used in anonymised form to improve detection; files sent through the API are not stored. The analysis results are kept in both cases.
Analysis results are kept so you can reopen them later, within the retention period set by the privacy policy (up to 3 years). The original file is handled as described in the privacy policy: web uploads may be retained in anonymised form, API files are not stored.
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