Sally Forth!

The Quest Protocol

An open standard for proving someone was somewhere.

Think of it like email

You can use Gmail, Outlook, or any other provider. They all speak the same language. A message sent from Gmail arrives perfectly in Outlook. You can switch providers without losing anything. No single company controls email.

The Quest Protocol works the same way for location credentials. Sally Forth! is one app built on the protocol — like Gmail is one email app. But the protocol is open. Any developer can build a compatible app. A credential issued by Sally Forth! can be verified by another app, and vice versa.

What a credential is

A Quest Protocol credential is a small, signed digital document. Think of it like a notarized letter that says:

“On this date, at this time, someone visited this location. This was confirmed by GPS and signed by Sally Forth!.”

A place, a time, a confirmation method, and a signature. The “someone” is identified by an anonymous code — not a name, not an email. The signature is mathematical. It can’t be forged or tampered with.

How verification works

When someone presents a credential, you don’t have to take their word for it. You don’t have to call us. You don’t even need an account.

  1. Paste the credential into any Quest Protocol verification tool
  2. The tool fetches the issuer’s public key automatically
  3. Math confirms: yes, this was signed by Sally Forth!, and no, it hasn’t been tampered with
  4. GPS confirms the person was within range of the location

The entire process is independent. It’s like checking a notary’s seal — you’re verifying the seal is real, not asking the notary to confirm it.

Challenge types

The protocol supports several ways to define what “being there” means:

Single location — Visit one place, earn one credential.
Multi-location — Visit several places in any order. Earn a completion credential when done.
Sequential — Visit places in a specific order. Each stop unlocks the next.
Duration — Stay at a location for a minimum amount of time.
Date-bound — Visit during a specific time window.
Recurring — Visit the same place multiple times.

Why “open standard” matters