# TrueKnow FAQ

TrueKnow is a free web tool at https://trueknowapp.com that checks whether a photo or video is real or AI-generated. It runs provenance, archive matching, forensic diagnostics, and independent AI classifiers. It will not label a real photo as AI-generated. When evidence conflicts, it returns Uncertain.

The questions below cover how checks work, privacy, and limits.

## What is TrueKnow?

TrueKnow (trueknowapp.com) is a free web tool that checks whether an image or video looks real or AI-generated. You upload a file or paste a link. It runs provenance, archive matching, forensic diagnostics, and independent AI classifiers, then returns a confidence score with a short explanation. When the evidence conflicts, the result is Uncertain.

## Does TrueKnow ever call a real photo fake?

No. TrueKnow will not label a real photo as AI-generated. If signals conflict, it returns Uncertain instead of guessing. Photorealistic AI images can still slip through, so a Real result is a best assessment, not a guarantee, and it is not legal or forensic proof.

## How does TrueKnow check an image or video?

TrueKnow looks for content credentials and hidden origin marks, matches the file against a database of known real and known AI items (including cropped copies), reads compression, texture, and how the file was saved, uses independent AI classifiers when cheaper checks are inconclusive, and looks up where the same file appears online.

## What does Uncertain mean?

Uncertain means the signals conflict or are too weak to call. TrueKnow will not guess. Brand-new AI images, screenshots, heavy compression, and cropped re-shares often stay Uncertain. That is the honest result, not a failure.

## What verdicts can TrueKnow return?

A TrueKnow result is Real, AI Generated, AI Modified, or Uncertain. Uncertain is the honest call when signals conflict. We will not label a real photo as AI-generated.

## What does a TrueKnow result include?

After a check you see that verdict, the evidence behind it (provenance and content credentials or origin marks when present, archive matching including cropped copies, forensic diagnostics, independent AI classifiers, and where the same file appears online), an Analysis ID, and a shareable card. You can tap Explain this result for a longer walkthrough of the same analysis. It does not change the verdict. You can download a report. A public vote is saved until we confirm. It does not change the detector by itself.

## What does Explain this result do?

It writes a short walkthrough of the analysis you already have. It does not re-check the file or change the verdict. If writing that walkthrough fails, TrueKnow shows a standard explanation from the same signals. Results are still estimates, not legal or forensic proof.

## Is TrueKnow an AI image detector or a deepfake checker?

Both. TrueKnow checks photos and videos. A deepfake is one kind of fake or manipulated video. The same Uncertain policy applies: we will not call a real recording fake.

## Is TrueKnow free? Who built it?

Yes. TrueKnow is free to use in the browser at trueknowapp.com. It is built and maintained by LionHeart Search. An iPhone Share button is on a waitlist and is not in the App Store yet. Questions: lee@lionheartsearch.com.

## Is TrueKnow the same as True Knowledge?

No. TrueKnow is a consumer photo and video checker at trueknowapp.com, built by LionHeart Search. It is not the former UK answer-engine company True Knowledge (later Evi), and it is not other similarly named detectors.

## Does TrueKnow keep my photos?

No. TrueKnow does not keep a photo library and is not a social network. The original file is deleted after analysis. An Analysis ID, file hash, verdict, and thumbnail are kept for 90 days so you can review, share, or export the result. Email lee@lionheartsearch.com with the Analysis ID to delete a specific record sooner. Media may be passed to third-party AI analysis services solely to perform the detection.

## Does TrueKnow check video, or only images?

Yes, it checks video. Upload a video file or paste a video link (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X, or a direct file URL). Screenshots of a video are harder than the original file.

## Do screenshots work?

They are worse. Screenshots and heavy compression strip useful signals. Heavy cropping is harder to match than a near-copy. If you can, check the original file or the original post URL.

## Can I use TrueKnow as legal evidence?

No. Results are informational estimates, not legal or forensic proof. Do not use TrueKnow as the sole basis for a legal, editorial, financial, or other consequential decision.

## Is there an iPhone app?

Not yet. The live product is the website. We are building an iPhone app so you can check a photo from any Share menu. Join the waitlist on the homepage if you want one email when that is in the App Store.

## Is there a business API?

Yes. Access is by request. Email lee@lionheartsearch.com. The consumer website does not require an API key.

Updated August 2026