Questions
What you get, what you don't, and how it works.
- What am I actually buying?
- An entry in a registry. When you claim a second, it is written into our database with your name on it, assigned a serial number, and given a certificate you can verify on a permanent page. No one else can claim that same second — the database physically refuses a second entry for the same moment.
- Do I legally own that second of time?
- No. Nobody can own time. What you own is the certificate, the registry entry, and the fact that it is unique. It is symbolic in the same way that naming a star or buying a square foot of a Scottish estate is symbolic. We are open about this because it matters.
- Is it really unique?
- Yes. Uniqueness is enforced on the UTC instant, not on the wall-clock time. So 14:00:00 in Oslo and 13:00:00 in London on the same day are the same second and can only be claimed once. If two people try to buy the same second at the exact same moment, one payment goes through and the other is refunded automatically.
- Which seconds can I claim?
- Any second from 1 January, year 1 (00:00:00 UTC) up to one second ago. Future seconds cannot be claimed — they haven't happened. A small number of historic seconds are reserved and not for general sale.
- How do I know a certificate is real?
- Every certificate has a page at claimseconds.com/s/ followed by its ID. The page checks two things: that the record exists in the registry, and that the ID mathematically matches the second and serial number it claims. Both have to pass for the green "Verified" mark.
- What is the difference between the tiers?
- Digital gets you the certificate by email, a permanent verification page, and a downloadable image. Digital plus adds a public listing on the registry so your second shows on the homepage and on a shareable page, plus priority support. Printed is everything in Digital plus, and a physical certificate on heavy cream archival paper, mailed to you.
- Can I keep my second private?
- Yes. Digital certificates are private by default and stay that way. With Digital plus or Printed, you choose whether to list publicly. A private second still has a verification page, but it shows only the serial number and that it is owned — not your name or message.
- Can I give one as a gift?
- Yes, and most people do. Tick "This is a gift" and we send the certificate to the recipient instead, either immediately or at 09:00 their time on a date you choose. You still get a confirmation.
- What about the message on the certificate?
- Up to 140 characters, printed on the certificate. If you list publicly, the message is screened before it appears. Almost everything passes; slurs, targeted harassment, phone numbers, and links do not. If a message is held back, the certificate is still yours and the message still appears on your own copy — it just isn't shown on the public registry.
- Refunds?
- If the second you paid for turns out to have been claimed a moment before your payment cleared, you are refunded in full automatically. Otherwise, because the registry entry is created the moment you pay and is unique, claims are final. If something is genuinely wrong, write to hello@claimseconds.com and a human will read it.
- Who is behind this?
- One person in Northern Norway who wanted to see whether the internet would buy a second of time. Payments are processed by Lemon Squeezy, who handle tax in every country so you don't have to think about it.