ChatGPTCast journal
Check an image's history before you share it
A dramatic image moving quickly between chats is often older, or less real, than it looks. Before passing it on, it helps to see where else it has appeared and what other people have said about it. Google's About this image feature is one practical way to do that from a phone.
By ChatGPTCast editorial · · 2 min read
Open the image check
On supported Android devices you can use Circle to Search: long-press the home button or navigation bar, circle or tap the image, swipe up and choose the About this image tab. In the Google app on Android and iOS, you can save or screenshot the image, open Lens, select it, swipe up and choose the same tab.
The feature is available in many languages, but devices and regions vary, so check that it appears for you before relying on it.
Read what it shows
The results can show how the image is used on other pages and what news and fact-checking sites say about it. They can also show metadata such as creator details and fields indicating that the image was generated or enhanced with AI. Google says the tool can identify images carrying its SynthID watermark as AI-generated.
Metadata can also be added or removed by whoever posts an image. A clean record is not a guarantee, and an empty one is common for ordinary photos.
Decide whether to share
Look for the earliest appearance you can find and compare captions. If an image said to show this week's event appeared online years earlier, or fact-checkers have already examined it, you have your answer. If you cannot establish where it came from, say so or do not share it.
In an AI demonstration, this is a useful companion to Content Credentials: one looks at the file's own record, the other looks at the image's life online.
- Run the image check before forwarding.
- Find the earliest appearance you can.
- Read fact-check results where they exist.
- Treat metadata as helpful but editable.
- Share with context, or not at all, if the origin is unclear.