How HomeTwo records are made and how to verify them

The short version

HomeTwo can show how its records are made and let anyone check that a PDF is unchanged. Whether a record is admitted, and how much weight it gets, is always up to the judge.

A HomeTwo court packet is a PDF made by our servers from the family's record. It carries a verification code and a fingerprint (a SHA-256 hash). Anyone can check the code at the Verify page to confirm the file is the one HomeTwo made, unchanged. Messages are timestamped by our servers, edits and unsends keep the original, and the packet shows every version.

Showing the record is what it claims to be

Before a record is used, the person offering it usually has to show it is what they say it is. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 901 and the matching state rules, that can be done by someone with knowledge, by distinctive features, or by evidence about the process that made it.

HomeTwo helps with each: the verification code and fingerprint tie the PDF to our servers; the Verify page confirms the date range, page count, and fingerprints without showing any content; and each message shows who sent it from which account, with server times in a named time zone.

HomeTwo does not currently provide written certifications of its records or testimony about them. Questions about records or legal process can go to the Help page.

Why the content is reliable

Sent messages can be locked so they can't be edited or unsent. When editing is allowed, the original stays in the record and the packet lists every version with its time.

A parent can't delete or unsend a locked message, and can't delete the other parent's messages. Removing an adult from the family ends their access, but what they wrote stays in the record.

Content can be removed in a few cases: when a person deletes their own account (their messages stay in the family record under the name Former member, and their private journal and personal details are erased), when a parent erases a child account (the child's messages, location, and profile are erased, as children's privacy law requires), and when the law requires it. The packet only shows what is in the record when it is made.

Times, read receipts, exchange check-ins, and answer-by deadlines are recorded by our servers, not typed in by a person.

An offline copy can be saved with the record's data built in, so its fingerprint can be checked again later, even without the internet.

Hearsay

A parent's own messages offered against that parent are generally not hearsay (Federal Rule 801(d)(2) and state equivalents). Server-generated data, such as times and receipts, is made by a machine rather than a person, and many courts treat it differently from a person's statement. Whether any exception applies is for the judge.

What to bring

The court packet PDF, its verification code, and, if helpful, the offline copy. Every page of the packet shows its code and where to check it.

Limits

This page is general information, not legal advice. Evidence rules differ by state and by court, and the judge decides what is admitted and how much weight it gets. HomeTwo can't vouch for what a parent wrote, only that the record shows what was sent, when, and by which account.