About
The tech underneath
How PennyForYours works under the hood, in plain English: how a question becomes a verified answer, and how anyone can check where it came from.
Signed receipt
Example- Answered by
- a verified person
- Question, image, answer
- fingerprinted
- Status
- accepted
- Checks passed
- passkey, no paste
By PennyForYours · Checked .
From question to signed answer
Question
Screened
Verified people answer blind
Summary
Signed receipt anyone can check
Step by step
- Ask. A question arrives from the website, the REST API or the MCP server. Every API call carries an operator key.
- Screen. Images have hidden metadata stripped. During early access a person approves every question and image.
- Offer. The question goes on the question board of eligible members, within limits: each member sees an image once, and no asker reaches the same member more than a few times a week.
- Answer. The member answers blind on a single-use assignment, with paste blocked and timing summaries recorded.
- Check. Our server checks the timings on its own clock. Anything that looks automated, pasted or copied is held for a person. Nothing is rejected by software alone.
- Sign. Each answer gets a receipt signed with our private key (ES256), which anyone can verify with our public key.
- Deliver. Results reach the asker as they arrive, then a summary when the pool closes.
The building blocks
| Part | What we use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Website and app | Astro, with small interactive islands | Fast pages with very little JavaScript |
| Hosting and server code | Netlify, with server code running in London | One platform for pages, functions and data |
| Database | Postgres through Netlify, in London | Relational data, with an accounting ledger that can only be added to |
| File storage | Netlify Blobs, in the US (Ohio) | Our host does not yet offer UK file storage |
| Sign-in | Email codes or passkeys (WebAuthn), no passwords | A passkey confirms access to a device, not a unique person |
| Receipts | Signed JSON Web Signatures (ES256) | Anyone can verify them offline against our published keys |
| Agent access | The official MCP TypeScript SDK, and a REST API described in OpenAPI 3.1 | Open standards, so any compatible tool can connect |
We build on maintained open-source components under permissive licences (such as MIT and Apache 2.0) rather than writing our own security code.
Our own use of AI
- Answers never come from AI. That’s the product, and the rule members agree to.
- Decisions about people are made by a person. Software can hold an answer for review; only a person rejects it, removes an account or withholds pay.
- No outside AI service receives your data. Question screening, results summaries and the check on how typical of a chatbot an answer’s wording is all run as software inside PennyForYours. We don’t train AI models on members’ or askers’ data.
- If that changes, for example an outside AI service to help screen questions, it will only ever advise a person, and we’ll name the provider in the privacy notice before it starts.
How we protect the service
- Passkey sign-in only. Sessions are stored on our server as hashes, with secure cookies and protection against cross-site requests.
- Admin access needs a passkey and a fresh confirmation before every decision, and every admin view or decision is written to a log that can’t be edited.
- API keys are stored as hashes and shown once; every key is scoped and rate-limited.
- Strict security headers and a content security policy on every page; the Google Analytics script loads on public information pages only after consent.
- Automated tests and checks run on every change before it can go live.
Accessibility and speed
- Built to WCAG 2.2 AA: keyboard and screen-reader use, visible focus, 44-pixel touch targets, and animation that respects reduced-motion settings.
- Every public page is checked automatically in Chromium and WebKit at phone and desktop widths, including an accessibility scan and a layout check.
- Pages ship very little JavaScript, so they load quickly on older phones.
Switched off for now
Built but not live, each behind a switch: payments and payouts, identity checks, pay-per-call for agents (x402), anchoring receipts on a public ledger, and email and push notifications. Each has a stand-in so the rest can be tested, and nothing outside PennyForYours receives data for them. They will be switched on one at a time, with the privacy notice updated first.
Do you use blockchain?
Not today. Receipts are signed, not stored on a blockchain. Anchoring batches of receipt fingerprints on a public ledger, and letting agents pay per call in stablecoins, are designed but switched off, and will only start after legal review. Members are paid in pounds. There’s no token.
Building something with an API?
The developer docs are public: the full OpenAPI document, the MCP tool list and how to verify a receipt.
Questions about the tech
What is a signed receipt?
A small signed record for each answer showing which question and image it was for, a fingerprint of the answer, when it was given and which checks it passed. Anyone can verify it against our public key.
Where is my data stored?
Our database and server code are in London. Uploaded images are stored by our host, Netlify, in the US (Ohio) under the UK's data bridge with the US, because it doesn't yet offer UK storage for files.
Do you train AI on my data?
No. We don't train AI models on your answers, questions or anything else about you, and no outside AI provider receives your data. Every automated check runs on software inside PennyForYours.
Why passkeys instead of passwords?
A passkey can't be phished or leaked in a breach, because the private key never leaves your device. You unlock it the way you unlock your phone.
Do you use blockchain or crypto?
Not today. Receipts are signed, not stored on a blockchain. Anchoring receipts on a public ledger and letting agents pay per call in stablecoins are designed but switched off. Members are paid in pounds, and there's no token.
Is the code open source?
PennyForYours itself isn't open source. It's built on maintained open-source components under permissive licences, such as MIT and Apache 2.0.
Can I see how the API works?
Yes. The developer docs are public, including the full OpenAPI document and the MCP tool list.
How do I report a security issue?
Use the help and support form with "Security" at the start of the subject, and leave out exploit details until we reply. A person replies and arranges a private way to share them.
Ask us anything
If something isn’t clear, whether that’s privacy, pay, how the checks work or how to connect your AI assistant, ask. A person reads every message.
- Help and support form
Works signed in or out. We aim to reply within 2 working days.
- Business or team enquiry
Volumes, invoices later, an API key.
- Developers
Request a sandbox key or report an API problem.
- Ask your own AI assistant
Point it at /llms.txt, a plain summary of the service written for AI tools.
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