August 24, 2026 · 6 min read

How to Tell If a Photo Is Edited or AI-Generated (5 Checks)

Not sure if an image is real? Here are five practical checks anyone can do — from hidden metadata and C2PA credentials to the visual giveaways AI still leaves behind.

AI images have got good enough that squinting at fingers no longer settles it. The reliable checks are a mix of what's inside the file and what's in the picture. Here are five, roughly in order of how much you can trust them.

1. Read the file's hidden markers (most reliable)

Many AI tools now embed C2PA Content Credentials — a signed record saying what generated or edited the image. Editing software often writes its own tags too. This is evidence from inside the file rather than a guess, which makes it the strongest single check. Drop the image into a checker and see whether any generator or editing markers are present.

2. Look at what the EXIF says — or doesn't

A genuine phone or camera photo usually carries EXIF data: camera make and model, lens, exposure, a timestamp. A fully generated image typically has none of that. Missing EXIF isn't proof — social platforms strip it on upload and anyone can remove it — but camera data that's present and internally consistent is a decent sign of a real photograph.

3. Reverse image search it

Run the image through a reverse image search. If it appears on stock sites, in older news articles, or across many unrelated pages, you're likely looking at a repurposed real photo. If it appears nowhere at all and claims to show a major event, be suspicious.

4. Zoom into the awkward areas

• Text: signage, labels and logos in the background often turn into near-letters that look right until you read them.
• Repeating patterns: brickwork, railings, crowds and tiles tend to drift or merge.
• Hands, ears, teeth and jewellery: still the classic trouble spots.
• Edges where objects meet: hair against a background, or a strap crossing a shoulder, can dissolve slightly.

5. Check the physics

Look at whether shadows all fall the same way, whether reflections match what's actually in the scene, and whether depth of field makes sense. Generated images often get the overall look right while quietly breaking one of these.

Put it together

No single check is conclusive on its own. The metadata check is the strongest starting point because it's actual evidence rather than intuition — but remember that markers can be stripped, so 'no markers found' means none were detected, not that the image is definitely real. Combine it with a reverse search and a close look at the details, and you'll catch the overwhelming majority of cases.