What industrial designers, architects and contractors have in common: They all do client work on projects that span months to years. Documenting the process is important, both for creative purposes and occasionally for legal cover-your-ass purposes. Having readily available proof of when certain milestones were achieved is important.

With digital photographs, you can sift through metadata to find the date and time an image was shot. But wouldn't it be way more convenient if those stats were stamped right on the photo, the way disposable cameras used to do it?

The developers of CamScanner, a productivity app, think so. They've introduced a Timestamp feature into their app that adds a tamper-proof (they claim) time and location stamp directly onto images as they're taken.

"For freelancers, digital nomads, and small teams, the Timestamp enables smoother, more transparent collaboration," they write. "Professionals such as photographers and consultants can use the tool to document service hours with time-stamped images, which helps support fair and verifiable billing. At the same time, managers in industries like construction and nonprofit work can monitor remote progress through photo updates, saving time and reducing costs."

It undoubtedly has a whiff of Big Brother, but I could see it being useful for keeping track of prototypes, site developments and the like.

CamScanner isn't the only one in this game, of course. The following apps offer similar capabilities, offering date, time and GPS location watermarks on captured images:

Timestamp Camera (Android)

Timestamp Camera Basic (iOS)

Smart GPS Camera Timestamp (Android)

GPS Map Camera (Android, iOS)

Happy documenting! (Or ass-covering.)