Photo File Checkup
AI photos are good enough now to pass a quick look. The file can still tell you things the picture can't, if you have the original. Drop in a photo and this page reads what's written inside it. Nothing is uploaded. Your photo stays on your device.
This checks information inside the file. It cannot prove a photo is real or fake.
Your photo stays on your device. This page reads it in your browser and does not upload it.
On iPhone, choosing from Photos may give the browser a converted copy. For the most complete check, save the original to Files and choose it there.
Useful any time a photo is asking for money, like a damage claim, a refund request or an expense receipt.
Try an example
See what the check reports before using your own photo. These files come from this site and run through the same check. A screenshot can lose origin information without changing what the picture shows.
Reading the file. The first check takes a few seconds while the reader loads.
Software listed: . Ordinary metadata like this can be changed, and an editing application's name alone doesn't show that AI was used.
This file includes the location where it was taken. That's useful for checking a claim, but remove it before posting your own photos publicly.
What this does and doesn't tell you
This checker reads what's written inside the file. It can't see Google's hidden SynthID watermark, which lives in the pixels and needs Google's own detector. If a file has no supported origin record, it may never have had one, or that information may have been removed when it was edited or shared. That does not tell us whether the photo is real or AI-generated.
Next steps
This page keeps your file on your device and sends it nowhere. The first three links go to other companies' sites. If you choose to upload your photo there, it goes to them, under their rules.
- Check for Google's hidden watermarkOpens another site. You'll need to upload your photo there. Google's SynthID Detector may ask you to sign in.
- Check images made with ChatGPTOpens another site. You'll need to upload your photo there. This is OpenAI's own checker.
- Search for earlier copiesOpens another site. You'll need to upload your photo there. On Google Images, choose Search by image.
- Ask for the original file. If someone sent you a screenshot or a social media copy, ask them to email the original file and check that instead.
- See the test behind this toolOpens an article on another site. No upload.
Technical details
File basics
What the signed record says
Validation results
EXIF, XMP and IPTC fields found
Raw manifest
Certificate revocation is not checked in the browser.
Three ways a picture can carry its origin
Visible mark
A logo in the corner. Easy to crop off.
Content Credentials
A signed record inside the file. Often removed when a photo is posted.
Hidden watermark
A pattern in the pixels. Survives more, but only the maker's detector can read it.
Questions
Does this tell me if a photo is fake?
No. It reads what's written inside the file and tells you what the file says and what it doesn't. A signed record is strong evidence about where a file came from, but no checker can tell you whether the picture is true.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. Your browser opens the file and reads it on your device, and the file is never sent to us or anyone else. This page downloads its own reading tools and the site's usual analytics. From a check, analytics receive only the kind of result and the file format, never the file name or anything from the image. Links to other sites are different. If you upload a photo to another site, it goes to that company.
Why does my photo show nothing?
Many photos never had an origin record, and many apps and websites remove this information when a photo is edited or shared. An empty result doesn't tell us whether the photo is real or AI-generated. If you can, ask for the original file and check that instead.
What's Content Credentials?
A signed record inside a file that says what made it and what was done to it. It's built on an open standard called C2PA. Some cameras, editing apps and AI image tools add one. Finding a record, checking its signature and trusting whoever signed it are three separate steps, and the result shows each one.
Why can't it see Google's watermark?
Google's SynthID watermark is a pattern in the pixels, not a note in the file, and it needs Google's own detector to read it. The first link under Next steps goes there.
How do I check a photo from my iPhone?
On iPhone, choosing from Photos may give the browser a converted copy. For the most complete check, save the original to Files and choose it there.