8 signs a photo was made by AI
Zoom in before you decide. One odd detail proves nothing on its own, but several together are a strong hint.
- 01
Hands and fingers
Count the fingers. Extra, missing or merged fingers, bent joints and hands that grip objects in impossible ways are still among the most common mistakes.
- 02
Text, signs and logos
Generators struggle with writing. Look for garbled letters on shop signs, labels, posters and clothing, and for logos that are almost, but not quite, right.
- 03
Skin and hair that are too perfect
Waxy, poreless skin, plastic-looking teeth and hair strands that melt into each other or into the background are typical of AI portraits.
- 04
Eyes, ears and jewellery
Check that both pupils are round and reflect the same light, that the ears match, and that earrings, glasses and necklaces are symmetrical and complete.
- 05
Light and shadows
Shadows should fall in the same direction and match the light source. Faces that glow with no visible light, or shadows that point different ways, are warning signs.
- 06
The background
Generators focus on the subject and get careless behind it. Warped lines, people who blend into each other, nonsense buildings and objects that dissolve are common.
- 07
Reflections and physics
Mirrors, windows and sunglasses often reflect the wrong thing. Look for floating objects, clothes that merge into skin and items that pass through each other.
- 08
The overall look
A glossy, cinematic finish, idealised faces and a perfectly composed shot for what should be a casual snapshot can all point to an AI image.
Check where the image came from
Context often settles the question faster than pixels do.
- Run a reverse image search (Google Lens, Bing or TinEye) to find the earliest copy and the original poster.
- See whether trusted news outlets show the same event, ideally from other angles and other photographers.
- Look at the account that shared it first: a brand-new profile or a page that posts only viral images deserves extra doubt.
- Check for Content Credentials or other metadata when available. Missing metadata proves nothing, since most apps and social networks remove it.
Use an AI image detector
Visual clues are getting harder to see with every new generator. A detector looks for statistical patterns that the eye cannot see and turns them into a single score.
With AI Detect on iPhone you pick a photo from your library or paste an image link, and within seconds you get a confidence percentage with a clear verdict. Your scan history stays on your phone.
Download on the App Store
What a detector can and cannot tell you
A detector gives you a probability, not proof. A high score means the image strongly matches AI-generated content; a low score means no clear signs were found.
Screenshots, heavy compression, cropping and filters can make an image harder to judge, and real photos that were heavily edited may score higher. Always combine the score with the clues above and with the source of the image.
Quick checklist
- 1Zoom in on hands, text, eyes and the background.
- 2Make sure light, shadows and reflections agree.
- 3Find the earliest copy with a reverse image search.
- 4Look for the same moment from other sources.
- 5Get a second opinion from an AI image detector.