Is This Photo Real?
Not sure about a picture? Upload it here. This free photo checker gives you the probability it was made by AI, shows what the file says about the camera, and tells you what to check next.
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This is an estimate, not proof — the detector can be wrong, producing both false positives and false negatives. Don't rely on it as your only source; verify anything important. wedetect.ai is not liable for decisions made from these results. See our Terms.
"Real" can mean three different things
When people ask if a photo is real, they usually mean one of these. Each has its own test.
- Did a camera take it? Or did an AI generator make it from a prompt? This is the question the checker above answers.
- Is it what it was? A genuine shot can be altered afterwards: a face swapped, an object removed, a crowd enlarged. The edited photo detector looks for those signs.
- Is the story true? A real, unedited picture can be years old, or from another country, and shared with a false caption. No detector sees that. You find it with a reverse image search.
Check a picture in under a minute
- Run it through the checker. Use the largest copy you have. A small thumbnail gives a weaker reading.
- Look under the result. If the file still names a camera or phone, that points toward a real photo. If it carries Content Credentials from an AI tool, that settles it the other way. Pictures that came through a social app usually show nothing, and that proves nothing.
- Search for it. Google Lens or TinEye will show where the picture has appeared. An older copy with a different caption answers the question on its own.
A photo someone sent you
Pictures that arrive privately are the ones that cost people money: a match who wants to move to another app, a seller with a too-good item, a stranger asking for help. Scammers use AI faces and stolen pictures, so test for both.
A likely-AI result on a profile picture is a strong warning. A likely-real result is not a clean bill of health, because a stolen photo of a real person passes. Search for that picture as well, and read how to run a catfish image search.
A photo going around online
For a viral picture, the person who posted it often is not the source. Before you share it, find the earliest copy you can, and see whether a named photographer or news agency stands behind it.
Big events attract both old photos and new AI images within hours. If nobody with a camera seems to have been there, and the only copies are reposts, treat it as unconfirmed even when the checker leans real.
When the answer stays unclear
A reading near the middle of the bar means the checker cannot say. Screenshots of screenshots, heavy filters and very small images all blur the signal. Ask for the original file if you can, and if it matters, look for a second source. For the published figures and known weak spots, see our page for fact-checkers.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if a photo is real?
Run three checks, because a fake can fail any one of them. Put the photo through the checker above to see if AI made it. Read the camera data in the result, if the file still has any. Then search for the picture with Google Lens to see where it appeared first. A photo that passes all three is very likely genuine.
Is this photo checker free?
Yes. There is no charge and no account, with a daily limit on free checks. The image is deleted once it has been analyzed.
Can it tell if a picture is real or fake on my phone?
Yes. Tap the upload box and choose the picture from your gallery, including iPhone HEIC photos. If it is inside an app, save it or take a screenshot and crop to the picture first.
Can a real photo be marked as AI?
Yes. No checker is perfect. Heavy filters, strong compression and very stylised shots can push a genuine photo toward the AI end. Treat the result as a strong hint, and if it matters, ask for the original file and check where the picture came from.
How accurate is it?
It catches about 85% of images from Midjourney, DALL·E, SDXL and Flux. The result is a probability, not proof, so check anything important more than one way.
Will it show me where the photo came from?
Not by itself. It tells you how likely it is that AI made the picture and what the file says about the camera. To trace where a photo first appeared, use a reverse image search, as explained in where an image came from.