To check if a photo is AI on iPhone, save the image (or screenshot it and crop), look at its details in the Photos app, run a reverse image search, and send it to an AI image detector from the share sheet. The whole routine takes a couple of minutes. The Photos app shows camera details but isn’t designed to tell you whether an image was generated, so the detector and the reverse search do most of the work.
Step 1: Get the best copy of the image #
The cleaner the copy, the better every check works.
- In Safari: touch and hold the image, then choose Save to Photos (or Add to Photos).
- In most social and messaging apps: open the image full screen, then use the app’s save or share option.
- If the app won’t let you save: open the image full screen and take a screenshot (side button plus volume up on Face ID iPhones). Crop later.
A saved file is better than a screenshot, because it may keep the original metadata and resolution. A screenshot is a new image with none of the original’s metadata. How to check a screenshot for AI explains the difference.
Step 2: Look at the Photos info panel #
Open the image in Photos and swipe up, or tap the info button. For a photo taken on a camera, you’ll usually see the device, lens and settings. For saved images, you may see much less.
What to take from it:
- Full camera details make a real photo somewhat more likely, though they can be faked or copied.
- No camera details is normal for images saved from the web, and isn’t evidence of AI on its own.
The panel doesn’t show Content Credentials or raw XMP. For those, you need a computer tool or a detector that reads metadata, like the one in step 4.
Step 3: Reverse search the image #
A reverse search tells you whether the image existed before, which catches real photos with false captions and stolen profile pictures. On iPhone:
- Google app: tap the Lens icon in the search bar and pick the image from your library.
- Chrome: touch and hold an image on a web page and choose to search it with Google Lens.
- TinEye or Bing: open the site in Safari and upload the image.
If you find an older copy, the image is real, and the question is whether its current caption is true. If you find nothing, move on to an AI check. Reverse image search vs AI detector explains how to combine the two.
Step 4: Run an AI check from the share sheet #
Expose AI is an iPhone app that checks whether an image is AI-generated without uploading it. It sits in the share sheet, so you don’t have to save anything first:
- In Photos, Safari or a social app, tap Share on the image and choose Expose AI. If it isn’t in the app row, tap More to find it.
- If it’s a screenshot, the app notices and suggests cropping. Tap Crop and drag in to the picture.
- Tap Analyze. The on-device model finishes in a second or two.
- Read the verdict (Likely real, Uncertain or Likely AI-generated), the confidence meter and the “How we decided” card.
A few things that make it well suited to iPhone use:
- No photo library permission. The system picker hands the app only the one image you tap.
- No account and no upload. Both passes, a metadata check for Content Credentials and generator tags and a neural network, run on the phone, and scans work in airplane mode.
- History stays on the device. You can reopen a past scan’s breakdown, or pause and clear history in Settings.
- Free with ads. Pro ($4.99 a month or $29.99 a year in the US, shown in your local currency before you confirm) adds a larger on-device model with roughly half as many Uncertain verdicts, batch check for up to 12 images, and removes ads.
It checks still images only, so for a video you’d need a different tool.
Step 5: Weigh the results #
| What you found | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| Older copy in reverse search | Real photo; check the caption |
| Likely AI-generated, decided by metadata | The file declares AI use |
| Likely AI-generated, decided by the model | Strong sign of AI; confirm with source checks |
| Uncertain | Not enough signal; try a larger copy or the Pro model |
| Likely real, no older copies | Possibly genuine and new; verify the source |
For the visual checks that complement these steps (text, hands, shadows, reflections), see how to tell if an image is AI-generated.
Frequently asked questions #
Does the iPhone have a built-in AI image detector? #
The Photos app shows camera and lens details, but it isn’t designed to tell you whether an image was AI-generated. For that you need a reverse search, a close look at the image, and a detector app or website.
Can I check an image from Instagram or TikTok on iPhone? #
Yes. Screenshot the image or use the app’s share option, then send it to a detector. Crop away the interface first. Screenshots lose the original metadata, so the result will come from the pixels, and small or compressed images are more likely to come back Uncertain.
Is it safe to upload photos to online AI detectors? #
It depends on the service and its policy. Online detectors usually upload your image to their servers. If the photo is private, or shows a real person who didn’t agree to it, an on-device detector avoids sending it anywhere. See online vs on-device AI image detectors.
Does taking a screenshot on iPhone remove AI metadata? #
Yes. A screenshot is a new image created by your iPhone, so it doesn’t carry the original file’s Content Credentials or generator tags. Save the original image when you can.