What is FotoForensics?
FotoForensics is a free website for analysing photos. You submit a JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC or AVIF image by URL or file upload and it shows a set of analyses, including Error Level Analysis (ELA), metadata, estimated JPEG quality, hidden pixels, ICC colour profile data and embedded strings. Tutorials on the site explain how to read each one. The site does not draw conclusions or say whether a picture is real; it shows raw data that you interpret yourself.
The service is run by Hacker Factor and builds on photo analysis algorithms that Dr. Neal Krawetz presented at the Black Hat Briefings in 2007, continuing the earlier errorlevelanalysis.com site. It is a public site: there is no login, uploads get a shareable link, pictures may be reviewed by the administrators and research partners, and they stay on the server for at least three months. The public site is meant for personal use and as an introduction to photo forensics, while commercial, legal and bulk users are directed to the separate FotoForensics Lab.
Main Features
- Error Level Analysis to highlight areas with different compression levels
- Metadata and metadata analysis views
- JPEG quality estimate, hidden pixels, ICC+ and strings analyses
- Submit an image by URL or by file upload
- Supports JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC and AVIF files
- Tutorials and an FAQ explaining each analysis
- Shareable result links for each submitted picture
- No ads on the public site
How to Get Started with FotoForensics
- Go to fotoforensics.com and read the FAQ for the submission rules.
- Paste an image URL or upload a file, using the original file where possible (Mobile Safari uploads strip metadata and recompress the picture).
- Open the ELA, metadata and other analysis tabs for the picture.
- Use the tutorials to interpret the results, and compare with other evidence before making any judgement.
FotoForensics Pricing
The public FotoForensics site is free for personal use and has no ads. It is not intended for commercial, business, legal or bulk analysis, including by non-profits; those users are directed to FotoForensics Lab, a separate login-based service with account requests. Lab pricing is not published on the public site.
Who Should Use It?
- Students and hobbyists learning the basics of photo forensics
- Journalists and fact-checkers doing a first check on a suspicious image
- OSINT researchers looking at image metadata
- Teachers showing how image editing can leave traces
- Curious people who want to look beneath the surface of a viral picture
FotoForensics Alternatives
- Forensically: free photo forensics tools that run in your browser without uploading your image.
- InVID-WeVerify Plugin: a free verification extension with reverse search, keyframes and forensic filters.
- TinEye: a reverse image search engine for finding earlier copies of a picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is FotoForensics free?
Yes, for personal use. The public site is free and has no ads. Commercial, business, legal and bulk users are asked to use the separate FotoForensics Lab instead.
Are the pictures I upload to FotoForensics private?
No. FotoForensics is a public site with no privacy: uploads get a shareable link, may be viewed by site administrators and research partners, and are kept for at least three months. Do not upload sensitive or personal documents such as ID cards or bills.
Can FotoForensics tell me if a photo is fake?
No. The site shows raw analysis data and does not draw conclusions. ELA and metadata results need careful interpretation, so read the tutorials and treat the output as one piece of evidence among others.