Platform Overview
Zero-knowledge document verification — architecture, components, and getting started.
Literal is a zero-knowledge, consent-based document verification platform. You upload encrypted documents, and Literal verifies them without ever seeing the plaintext content.
Literal is built for KYC workflows where companies need reliable identity or eligibility verification, and users stay in control of who can access their sensitive documents.
Key Features
- Tamper-evident verification — Every KYC document receives a cryptographic seal that proves whether it has changed since upload.
- Privacy by default — Documents are encrypted before upload. Literal stores encrypted content, while verification and indexing happen only inside the attested secure enclave.
- Consent-based access — Document holders control which organizations can verify their documents through time-limited, revocable grants.
- Searchable encryption — Blind index tokens let participants search encrypted documents without revealing the underlying search terms to the application server.
- Privacy-preserving authentication — OPRF-based login avoids exposing raw user identifiers during authentication.
How the Trust Model Works
When a document moves through Literal:
- The document holder encrypts the document before upload.
- Literal stores only encrypted content; the application server cannot read the document.
- The secure enclave processes the document during authorized verification and indexing.
- Access stays consent-based — sharing happens through time-limited, revocable grants created by the document holder.
The application server never holds user encryption keys and cannot decrypt stored documents. Plaintext exists only on the document holder’s device or inside the attested secure enclave during authorized processing. A compromise of the application server or database would not expose stored document plaintext or user-held keys.
For the detailed security model, including trust boundaries, enclave processing, and what Literal can and cannot see, see Zero-Knowledge Model.
Getting Started
- Quickstart — upload your first encrypted document and make an authenticated API call.
- Zero-Knowledge Model — understand the trust boundaries, enclave processing, and what Literal can and cannot see.
- Authentication — OPAQUE registration and login in detail.
- API Reference — full endpoint reference with all request and response schemas.
Last updated on