How CaseGuardian works
Plain-English how-to and a side-by-side glossary that translates legal jargon into everyday words.
The basics, in plain words
- Capture - Take a photo, video, or voice note. The app stamps it with the time and your phone, so nobody can say you faked it later.
- Seal - When you’re ready, the app locks the file in a special envelope. Once sealed, it can’t be changed without breaking the seal.
- Share - You send the sealed envelope to your lawyer. The app makes sure only that person can open it, by checking their phone and their email. The last step is always yours: you send the link itself, because it carries the key that lives only on your phone.
- Vault - A safe place on your phone where all your sealed envelopes live. You can look back at them any time.
- Kid Calendar - A diary for who has the kids, when, and what happened. Includes 50/50 schedules, verbal-agreement percentages, and a log for missed pickups.
Step-by-step: your first capture
- Open CaseGuardian and tap the big Capture button.
- Pick a type: photo, video, voice note, or document.
- Take or record the thing you want to save.
- Add a short note about what it is.
- If you want the app’s smart helper to read the file and pull out dates or names, flip the Parse with AI switch on. Otherwise leave it off.
- Tap Save to Vault. Done.
Step-by-step: sharing with your lawyer
- Go to your Vault.
- Tap New Share.
- Pick the items you want to send.
- The app shows you a Review screen with everything inside. Look it over carefully - nothing leaves your phone until you tap Seal.
- Type your lawyer’s phone number and email. Both are needed so a stranger can’t open the link if they find it.
- Tap Seal & Send. Your lawyer immediately gets a text with an access code and an email listing what the case contains. Neither of those can open anything on its own.
- Now finish it yourself. Tap Text or Email on the link the app shows you. The message opens already addressed, with nothing to retype. This is the piece that unlocks the envelope, and it exists only on your phone, so we cannot send it for you.
- Your lawyer taps your link, enters the texted code, and the envelope opens.
Legal jargon vs. everyday words
A side-by-side translation. The left column is what you’ll hear in a courtroom or from your attorney. The right column is what it actually means.
| Legal term | What it means in plain words |
|---|---|
| Chain of custody | A list that shows who had the evidence, when, and that nobody messed with it. |
| Hash / cryptographic signature | A unique fingerprint for the file. If even one pixel changes, the fingerprint changes too. |
| Authenticated | Proven to be the real, unchanged thing. |
| Affidavit | A written statement you swear is true. |
| Discovery | The part of a case where each side has to share their evidence with the other side. |
| Custody order | A judge’s written rules about who the kids live with and when. |
| Parenting time / visitation | The hours or days you have your kids. |
| 50/50 custody | Each parent has the kids about the same amount of time. |
| Verbal agreement | Something you and the other parent agreed to out loud, not in court. |
| Attempted pickup | You showed up to get the kids but it didn’t happen. |
| Sealed | Locked up so it can’t be changed or peeked at. |
| Phone verification | A one-time code texted to your phone to confirm the number really belongs to you. |
| Biometric | Your face or fingerprint, used to unlock things. |
Common questions
Is the AI helper looking at all my stuff?
No. The AI helper only sees an item if you flip the Parse with AI switch on for that one item. It’s off by default. You can turn it off again before you seal anything. And before any item is sent to the AI, the app runs an on-device pass that redacts your name, phone number, email, address, and the names of the people in your life - the AI helper sees what matters to your case, never the people in it.
Can someone else open my share link if they get my lawyer’s phone?
No - they would also need the access code we text separately, and the link itself, which comes from you in your own message. Three pieces travel by three different routes and never in the same message. That’s why the app makes you enter both contact methods.
What happens when I delete my account?
Your phone asks for your face, fingerprint, or passcode first (we never see this - it stays on your phone). Then your account and evidence are removed from our servers within 30 days. Bitcoin anchors for your past captures stay in the public ledger forever - but they’re just fingerprints, with no personal information attached.
Does CaseGuardian replace my lawyer?
No. We help you organize and prove your evidence. Your lawyer is the one who uses it in your case. Anything the app or AI says is information, not legal advice.
How old do I have to be?
CaseGuardian is for users 18 and older. If you’re a minor in a documenting situation, please have a trusted adult or attorney use the app on your behalf.
Verify any capture against Bitcoin
Every photo, video, voice memo, document, and entry you save in CaseGuardian is fingerprinted (SHA-256 hashed) on your device and submitted to OpenTimestamps, which anchors that fingerprint to the Bitcoin blockchain. Anyone - your attorney, opposing counsel, or a judge - can independently confirm that a capture existed at or before a specific Bitcoin block, without trusting CaseGuardian.
Open the public verification page and paste any hash from an entry’s “Integrity seal” card, or upload a downloaded .ots receipt. The page runs entirely in your browser - the hash is sent only to the OpenTimestamps public calendars. CaseGuardian never sees the request.
Need a human?
Email support@case-guardian.com and a real person will get back to you. Reply STOP to any text from us to opt out of SMS.
© CaseGuardian L.L.C.
30 N. Gould St., Ste. R, Sheridan, WY 82801, USA