Which Free AI Image Detector Gets It Right? ImageDetector or AI Photo Check

GTA 6 still isn't out.

That hasn't stopped the internet from acting like it is. Every few weeks another screenshot surfaces. 

Someone posts it with zero context, the replies explode, and Rockstar still says nothing because they never say anything, the image has already been shared ten thousand times by people who wanted it to be real badly enough that they didn't look too hard.

That's the thing about AI-generated images now. They don't have to be perfect. They just have to be convincing enough for the three seconds most people spend before hitting share.

ImageDetector and AI Photo Check are both free tools built for the moment you want to actually check. No subscription, no technical background required. 

You upload the image, you get an answer. We ran both through six tests to find out which one you should actually have bookmarked the next time your group chat loses its mind over a screenshot that probably isn't real.

What is ImageDetector?

ImageDetector is about as low-friction as it gets. Go to the site, upload the image or paste a URL, get an AI heatmap and an AI likelihood score. No account, no signup, nothing between you and the result.

It supports JPG, PNG, and WEBP files and covers a wide range of generators including DALL-E, Gemini, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Flux, Ideogram, and Bing Image Creator. 

The detection works purely on visual signals, texture patterns, noise behavior, and structural details. 

No watermarks, no metadata, no EXIF data. Just what's in the pixels themselves.

Most images that travel through social media arrive stripped of their original metadata. If a tool depends on that data to make a call, it's already working with one hand tied behind its back. ImageDetector is built to work without it.

What is AI Photo Check?

AI Photo Check is running considerably more under the hood than its simple interface suggests.

A single upload triggers 17 detection methods running in parallel. Machine learning classification carries the most weight at 22%, but the more interesting layer is PRNU sensor fingerprinting at 18%. 

So instead of only scanning for what AI leaves behind, AI Photo Check is also looking for evidence that a real camera was actually present. It also reads C2PA metadata 

The tool comes in two versions. V1 is the classic 17-method detector. V2 is LLM-powered, producing human-readable reports that explain the verdict in plain language rather than just returning a score. 

There's also a dedicated deepfake detector with heatmap visualization for anyone who needs to go further than standard AI detection.

Pricing is free for the first 10 checks without an account. After that you need to sign up, and unlimited access runs $5 per month. 

A Quick Note on Privacy

Both tools process images through their servers. Don't upload anything private, sensitive, or that you don't own.

AI Photo Check explicitly states that images are never stored permanently. 

ImageDetector doesn't publish a detailed data retention policy in plain language, so check their privacy page directly if that matters to you.

The Test Setup

Six tests built around the kinds of images that actually show up in group chats and timelines.

Three AI-generated images from ChatGPT, Gemini, and Midjourney. 

A real photograph as a clean control. The same photograph with visible edits applied. 

And one image pulled directly from social media after it had already been through the share cycle.

ImageDetector vs AI Photo Check: AI Image Detection Results

Test 1: ChatGPT-Generated Image

ImageDetector: Correctly Flagged the image as AI Generated Score: 99%

AI Photo Check:Correctly Flagged the image as AI Generated Score: 100%

Test 2: Gemini-Generated Image

ImageDetector:  Correctly Flagged the image as AI Generated Score: 99%

AI Photo Check: Correctly Flagged the image as AI Generated Score: 100%

Test 3: Midjourney-Generated Image

ImageDetector: Correctly Flagged the image as AI Generated Score: 99% 

AI Photo Check: Give out an Uncertain Verdict Score: 39%

Test 4: Real Photograph

ImageDetector: Incorrectly flagged the image as AI Generated Score: 89%

AI Photo Check:  Gave out an Uncertain Verdict Score: 36%

Test 5: Edited Photograph

ImageDetector:  Incorrectly flagged the image as AI Generated Score: 99%

AI Photo Check:Incorrectly flagged the image as AI Generated Score: 100%

Test 6: Social Media Image

ImageDetector: Correctly identified the image as Real Score: 3%

AI Photo Check: Gave out an Uncertain Verdict Score: 35%

Results Summary

Test	ImageDetector	AI Photo Check
ChatGPT Image	99%	100%
Gemini Image	99%	100%
Midjourney Image	99%	39% (Uncertain)
Real Photo	89% (Wrong)	36% (Uncertain)
Edited Photo	99% (Wrong)	100% (Wrong)
Social Media Image	3%	35% (Uncertain)
Correct Verdicts	4/6	2/6

My Final Thoughts

AI Photo Check was perfect on ChatGPT and Gemini, returning 100% on both. Everything after that got murky. 

Uncertain on Midjourney. Uncertain on the social media image. Wrong on the edited photo. Three of the four real-world tests came back without a clear answer. 

For a tool running 17 detection methods, returning uncertain that often isn't thoroughness. It's hesitation.

ImageDetector was more decisive across the board. It got all three AI-generated images right, including the Midjourney image that AI Photo Check couldn't commit to. 

It correctly identified the social media image as real. 

The real photo flagged at 89% is the harder result to explain. That one deserves scrutiny before trusting ImageDetector's verdict on unedited real images. 

But the edited photo is a different story. Post-processing involves AI-based tools more often than not these days, smoothing, retouching, background removal, generative fill. 

When both tools flag an edited image as AI-generated at maximum confidence, that's less a failure and more both detectors correctly picking up on the fact that AI was involved in producing the final image. 

Calling that a wrong answer is debatable. Strip that test out and ImageDetector's scorecard looks considerably cleaner. 

For a quick check before you decide whether that GTA 6 screenshot is worth sharing, ImageDetector is the more reliable tool.