Skip to main content
Encypher Logo

SVG content provenance

Content provenanceContent provenance: The record of where a piece of content came from and how it changed, carried with the content itself. for SVG files is a signed C2PA manifestC2PA manifest: The signed label itself: a small package inside a file that records who signed it, what they declared and how to check it. inside the file. Anyone can check who signed it and whether it changed, for free.

A file holds a signed label in four layers: who signed it, what they declared including AI use, a fingerprint of the content, and a signature that seals them together.
The label sits inside the file. It names the signer, carries what they declared, fingerprints the content, and is sealed by a signature.
File
.svg, MIME typeMIME type: The standard name for a file format, such as image/jpeg or audio/wav, that software uses to decide how to read a file. image/svg+xml
Where the label sits
Inside the file, in a block of the drawing's code kept for file details, apart from the shapes.
Standard
C2PAC2PA: The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity: the group that publishes the open standard for content labels., the open standard for content labels.
Made for
Logos and brand assets, Icons, Charts, Technical drawings

What Encypher supports for SVG

  • SignSupported

    Encypher signs SVG files under C2PA 2.2 and 2.4.

  • CheckSupported

    Free in the browser checker, with no account.

  • Formal conformanceSupported

    Covered by our C2PA 2.2 conformance record.

How to check a SVG file

  1. Open the free checker.

    It runs in your browser. No account needed.

    Open the checker
  2. Add your SVG file.

    Drop it in or pick it from your device.

  3. Read the result.

    It shows who signed and what they declared, such as AI use. It also shows if the file changed.

Where the label sits in a SVG file

The file is a row of tagged chunks, segments or tables. The label gets one of its own.

In a JPEG, PNG, WebP or WAV file, the label is one tagged chunk or segment among the chunks that hold the picture or sound.
A SVG file keeps the label in a block of the drawing's code kept for file details, apart from the shapes.

SVG is a drawing format made of shapes, not pixels, so it stays sharp at any size. Logos, icons and charts often use it.

What keeps the label on a SVG file

You can add a hidden watermarkWatermark: A mark placed in the content itself, visible or hidden, so it can be found again after the file is copied. when you sign. If a copy loses its label, the watermark can lead back to the record.

Hard binding is a fingerprint of the exact file, so a re-encode breaks it. Soft binding is a watermark in the picture that still leads back to the label after a re-encode.
The fingerprint proves the file is unchanged. The watermark finds the label again when the file has changed or lost it.
  • Copying, emailing and downloading the file keep the label.
  • Editing the picture after signing shows as a change.
  • Some social sites and image services rebuild the file and drop the label. Then the check finds no label.

For engineers

Show the technical detail
Embedding
Base64-encoded JUMBF manifest store in the SVG metadata element
Accepted MIME types
image/svg+xml
Signing versions
C2PA 2.2, 2.4
Verification
Any version. The checker reads any C2PA manifest it can parse, and the report names the version it checked against.
curl -X POST https://api.encypher.com/api/v1/sign/media \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ENCYPHER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -F "file=@example.svg" \
  -F "title=My SVG file" \
  -F "action=c2pa.created"

Support rows come from the live API capability matrix. Full reference: C2PA media types.

Create. Mark. Endure.

Sign your first SVG file free. Checking stays free for everyone.