Prompt
What's the difference between an electronic signature and a digital signature?
Latest observation
An electronic signature is a broad legal term for any electronic mark or action showing intent to sign a document.
An digital signature is a specific type of electronic signature that uses cryptography to protect the signature and verify who signed it.
Quick difference
- Electronic signature: can be as simple as typing your name, checking a box, clicking “I agree,” or drawing a signature on a screen.
- Digital signature: uses a technical process with encryption and certificates to ensure:
- the signer’s identity,
- the document hasn’t been altered,
- the signature can be verified.
In short
- All digital signatures are electronic signatures
- Not all electronic signatures are digital signatures
Example
- Clicking “Accept Terms” = electronic signature
- Signing a PDF with a certificate-based cryptographic signature = digital signature
If you want, I can also explain how they differ in legal validity or security.
Observation history
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How did Obsurfable measure this prompt?
Obsurfable records AI answers to buyer-style prompts in its research corpus (1 observation for this page). Metrics are distributions over observations, not a single static ranking.
Which AI systems does Obsurfable collect answers from?
OpenAI, ChatGPT, Google, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Anthropic, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Copilot, and Meta AI.