Blog
Honest social proof, explained.
70 articles on verified purchases, real live counters, countdown timers that end on time, and measuring what proof does for your store.
Trust & compliance
Asking an AI for urgency without asking it to lie
AI assistants will write any scarcity copy you ask for. How to brief them for urgency that is true, and how Provedly limits what an assistant can fake.
Oct 30, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
We scanned 105 Shopify stores for fake urgency. Here is what we found, and what we could not see
Provedly loaded 105 well-known UK and Australian Shopify stores in a headless browser and tested their viewer counters and countdown timers. 15 had urgency or social proof apps installed. None showed a counter we could prove was made up. The method, the numbers and the limits.
Oct 29, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
We scanned 200 small Shopify stores. 7 of 17 countdown timers restarted for every new visitor
Our second fake-urgency scan: 200 small Shopify stores from 34 countries, every page tested. 12 stores (6%) showed a countdown that restarts per visitor or a viewer count made up in the browser. The method, the numbers, what changed since the first scan and the limits.
Oct 29, 2026 · 7 min read
Trust & compliance
Why your AI assistant cannot mark a purchase verified
Provedly lets an AI assistant add records and run bars, but never verify a purchase. Where that line sits, why it is there, and what visitors see as a result.
Oct 28, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
Read only or read and write: choosing a Provedly API key
What each Provedly key level allows, which one to give an AI assistant or a script, and the handful of habits that keep a leaked key from becoming a problem.
Oct 26, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
Six honest alternatives to fake scarcity
Fake timers and invented stock counts are being named by regulators and ignored by buyers. Six things that create real urgency without making anything up.
Oct 15, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
Counters that grow on a schedule, not a random number
How Provedly's scheduled counter bar works, why every visitor sees the same number, and how to configure start, end, step and interval around a real figure.
Oct 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Trust & compliance
Fake "people viewing" counters are a liability in 2026
Many social proof tools still let merchants type a viewer count. That is a legal, trust and measurement liability. What a real counter does instead.
Oct 5, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
What Is a Webhook Signing Secret? (Stripe, Shopify, WooCommerce)
What a webhook signing secret is, why Provedly only marks purchases verified when the signature checks out, and how to connect Stripe or Shopify safely.
Oct 3, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
Reading the verification page like an auditor
Every Provedly badge links to a public verification page. How to read its sources, counts, last verified purchase and nightly hash the way a sceptic would.
Sep 28, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
The FTC fake-review rule and social proof widgets
The FTC rule on fake reviews and testimonials has been in force since late 2024. What it covers, how it touches social proof widgets, and what to ask a vendor.
Sep 23, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
Name and location formats: privacy by default
What Provedly's name and location format settings do, what the defaults hide, and how to choose formats that respect buyers while still reading as real.
Sep 9, 2026 · 5 min read
Trust & compliance
Recovering trust after a fake-urgency complaint
A shopper or regulator has called out a fake countdown or invented viewer number on your store. A practical plan for the first day, the first week and after.
Aug 17, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
Why your social proof needs a verification page
A notification is an assertion. A public page showing sources, counts, the last verified purchase and a sealed history turns it into a checkable claim.
Jul 25, 2026 · 6 min read
Trust & compliance
Evergreen timers without the dark pattern
An evergreen timer starts when a visitor first arrives and ends a fixed interval later. It is honest only if the window is real, enforced and never restarts.
Jul 19, 2026 · 6 min read
Show proof you can stand behind.
Free plan, one site, 2,000 impressions a month, verified purchases included. The badge on the free plan links to your verification page, which is the point.