Image Forensics Analyzer
Detect signs of image manipulation with our free online Image Forensics Analyzer. Upload an image and our tool runs four complementary analyses: Error Level Analysis (ELA) highlights manipulated regions with a visual heatmap, metadata/EXIF extraction checks for stripped or inconsistent metadata, clone detection identifies duplicated regions using block-based hash analysis, and compression analysis detects JPEG artifacts and re-compression warnings. Each analysis produces a risk score, detailed findings, and an overall manipulation risk assessment. All processing is done in your browser - no uploads to any server, 100% private. No signup required.
Image Forensics Analyzer
Upload an image to detect signs of manipulation
Drop an image here or click to browse
Supports JPEG, PNG, WebP, BMP, and other image formats
Features
Error Level Analysis (ELA)
Detect manipulated regions by comparing the original image against a re-compressed version. Areas with high ELA variance are highlighted in a visual heatmap, revealing where edits may have been made.
Metadata & EXIF Extraction
Extract and analyze EXIF metadata from JPEG images. Detect missing metadata, inconsistent timestamps, and stripped EXIF data that may indicate re-saving or tampering.
Clone / Copy-Move Detection
Detect duplicated regions within the image using block-based hash analysis. Identifies areas that may have been cloned to cover up or duplicate content - a common forgery technique.
Compression Artifact Analysis
Analyze JPEG compression artifacts including 8×8 block boundaries, quality estimation, and double-compression warnings. Helps identify if an image has been re-saved or heavily compressed.
Use Cases
Journalism & Fact-Checking
Verify the authenticity of images used in news articles and social media. Detect manipulated photos before publishing to maintain editorial integrity and combat misinformation.
Legal & Forensics Evidence
Analyze photographic evidence submitted in legal cases. ELA and metadata analysis can help determine if images have been altered, supporting or challenging the chain of evidence.
Insurance Fraud Investigation
Detect manipulated damage photos in insurance claims. Spot cloned regions, inconsistent compression artifacts, and missing metadata that may indicate fraudulent submissions.
Digital Art & NFT Verification
Verify the authenticity of digital artwork and NFT images. Check for signs of unauthorized manipulation or re-compression that could indicate copyright infringement.
Social Media Content Moderation
Review flagged images for signs of manipulation before taking moderation action. Quick analysis helps identify deepfakes, edited screenshots, and other deceptive content.
Education & Digital Literacy
Teach students about digital image forensics and media literacy. Use the tool to demonstrate how image manipulation works and how forensic analysis can detect it.
About Image Forensics Analyzer
What Is Image Forensics?
Image forensics is the science of analyzing digital images to detect signs of manipulation, tampering, or forgery. Using techniques like Error Level Analysis (ELA), metadata extraction, clone detection, and compression artifact analysis, forensic tools can identify areas where an image may have been altered. Our Image Forensics Analyzer combines multiple detection methods to provide a comprehensive manipulation risk assessment - all within your browser.
How Error Level Analysis Works
Error Level Analysis (ELA) identifies manipulated regions by re-saving the image at a known quality level (JPEG quality 90%) and comparing pixel differences. Original, unmodified areas should show consistent, low-level compression artifacts. Edited areas - where content was added or retouched - often exhibit significantly different compression errors, appearing as bright spots on the ELA heatmap. The brighter the area, the more likely it has been modified.
Understanding Image Metadata (EXIF)
Digital images contain hidden metadata called EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) data. This includes camera model, date taken, GPS coordinates, software used, and editing history. Missing or inconsistent EXIF data can indicate that an image has been re-saved or stripped of metadata to hide its origin. Our tool extracts available metadata and flags anomalies such as missing EXIF data or format inconsistencies.
Privacy & Security
All image analysis is performed entirely within your browser using the HTML5 Canvas API. Your images are never uploaded to any server - they remain on your device throughout the analysis process. This ensures complete privacy when analyzing sensitive or confidential images. No data is stored, logged, or transmitted. Simply close the page when done, and everything is cleared.
Related Tools
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Frequently Asked Questions
Image forensics uses scientific methods to analyze digital images for signs of tampering. Our tool combines four complementary techniques: Error Level Analysis (ELA) detects manipulated regions by comparing compression artifacts, metadata extraction checks for missing or inconsistent EXIF data, clone detection finds duplicated regions using block-based hash analysis, and compression analysis identifies JPEG artifacts and re-compression warnings. Together, these provide a comprehensive assessment of an image's authenticity.
Error Level Analysis is a forensic technique that reveals image manipulation by re-saving an image at a known JPEG quality level and comparing the pixel differences. Unmodified areas of an image compress uniformly, showing consistent low-level error. Edited or cloned regions compress differently, creating bright spots in the ELA heatmap. The ELA score (0-100) reflects the overall level of pixel variation - higher scores suggest potential manipulation. Note that high-contrast edges, text, and fine details naturally show some ELA variation even in authentic images.
This tool is designed to detect traditional image manipulation techniques like copy-move forgery, cloning, re-compression, and metadata stripping. While some AI-generated images may exhibit unusual compression artifacts or metadata anomalies that our tool can flag, it is not specifically designed as an AI-generated image detector. For AI-generated content detection, specialized deepfake detection tools that analyze GAN/VAE artifacts, frequency domain patterns, and neural network fingerprints would be more appropriate.
Missing EXIF metadata can occur for several legitimate and suspicious reasons. Legitimate reasons include: the image was taken on a device that doesn't embed EXIF data, the image was resized or re-saved by image editing software, it's a screenshot, or it was saved in a format that doesn't support EXIF (like WebP). Suspicious reasons include: deliberate metadata stripping to hide the camera/software used, re-saving to remove editing history, or downloading from social media platforms that strip metadata. Context is important when evaluating missing EXIF data.
Our clone detection divides the image into 16×16 pixel blocks and computes hash values for each block. Blocks with identical or very similar hashes are counted. If many blocks share the same hash value, it may indicate that areas of the image were duplicated - a common technique used to cover up objects or duplicate content. The number of suspicious regions indicates how many distinct cloned areas were found. The analysis is performed client-side using the Canvas API.
The accuracy depends on several factors including image format, compression level, resolution, and the type of manipulation. ELA is most effective on JPEG images and less reliable on losslessly compressed formats like PNG. Clone detection works best on images with clear, distinct content and may produce false positives on images with large uniform areas (like blue skies). We recommend using this tool as an initial screening mechanism and not as definitive proof of manipulation. For critical applications, consult a professional forensic analyst.
The tool supports any image format that your browser can render, including JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, AVIF, and TIFF. However, Error Level Analysis works best on JPEG images because the technique relies on comparing JPEG compression artifacts. For lossless formats like PNG, the ELA analysis will be less informative. Metadata extraction works on JPEG files with EXIF data. All processing happens in your browser using the Canvas API.
Yes, your privacy is guaranteed. All image analysis is performed entirely within your browser using the HTML5 Canvas API and JavaScript. Your images are never uploaded to any server - they remain on your device throughout the entire analysis process. No data is transmitted, stored, or logged. You can verify this by using the browser's developer tools to confirm no network requests are made when analyzing an image. Simply refresh or close the page to clear all data.