Check a screenshot for AI
You can. Checko looks at a screenshot like any other image. But a screenshot is a copy of a copy, so here's how to give it a fair chance.
Show Checko an image
What a screenshot does to an image
A screenshot records your screen, not the image file. The picture is resized to fit your screen, wrapped in buttons and captions, and saved again. If it's then sent through a chat app, it's usually compressed once more.
Each step softens the fine detail the detectors look at. Any Content Credentials the original carried are gone too.
Get the original if you can
- Save or download the image itself instead of screenshotting it.
- If it's online, copy the image's address and paste the link. Checkobot fetches the file directly.
- Ask whoever sent it for the original file.
- Run a reverse image search to find a larger, earlier copy.
If a screenshot is all you have
- Show the image as large as you can before you take the screenshot.
- Crop away everything that isn't the picture: borders, captions, buttons, other posts.
- If the screenshot holds several images, crop and check each one on its own.
- Check it from the device you took it on. Sending it to yourself through a chat app compresses it again.
Why some screenshots are refused
Images under 256 pixels on the short side, or JPEGs compressed below about quality 50, don't carry enough detail to judge. Checko says so instead of guessing, and a refusal doesn't use a free check.
Where it can miss
- Extra compression hides detail, so some AI images pass as No AI detected once they've been screenshotted.
- Very low-quality images also get flagged by mistake more often than clean ones.
- It looks for signs of AI in pictures. It doesn't check whether a screenshot of a chat, a post, a receipt or a document was edited.
- Screenshots of screenshots are the hardest case of all. Go back to the source if you can.
Questions
Can it tell if a screenshot of a chat or a post was faked?
No. It checks the pictures in an image for signs of AI. It doesn't check text, chats, receipts or documents.
Can I paste a screenshot straight from my clipboard?
No. Save it as a file and upload it, or paste a link to the image. Copying through the clipboard can drop the image's Content Credentials and some detail, so we ask for the file.
Why was my screenshot refused?
Images under 256 pixels on the short side, or JPEGs compressed too hard, don't carry enough detail to judge. Checko says so instead of guessing, and a refusal doesn't use a free check.
Is it free?
Yes. You can check 3 images a day without signing up, or 10 a day with a free account.
Do you keep my photo?
Not on free checks: the image is checked in memory and then discarded, and we keep a fingerprint of the file and the verdict. Paid plans keep the images you check in your private history, with a switch in Settings to turn that off. The privacy page has the details.