Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 2026

Overview

FakeOut ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application and website.

By using FakeOut, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect your email address and a display name. You may sign in using Sign in with Apple, in which case account information (such as your name and email) is provided by Apple and handled in accordance with Apple's Privacy Policy. Apple may share a private relay email address; we use it solely for authentication and account management.

Images and Videos

When you submit an image or video for analysis:

  • Images are compressed and hashed locally on your device before transmission
  • Your media is securely transmitted (via HTTPS) to our backend servers, which process it using third-party AI detection services including Google Gemini AI, Sightengine, and Google SynthID to determine whether the content is AI-generated or authentic
  • Analysis is performed on pixel-level patterns, metadata attributes, and AI model signatures — no facial recognition, face mapping, or biometric identification is performed at any stage
  • We do NOT permanently store your images or videos — media is processed transiently in memory and automatically deleted from our servers after analysis is complete
  • Third-party AI services receive only the image data necessary for analysis and do not receive any personally identifiable information

Face Data

Images submitted to FakeOut may contain faces. We want to be clear about how this is handled:

  • FakeOut does not collect, extract, store, or process face data or biometric information in any form
  • No facial recognition, face detection, or face mapping technology is used
  • Images are analysed solely to determine AI-generated content — faces in images are not identified, catalogued, or compared against any database
  • All image processing is transient; no face data is retained after analysis

Text Claims

When you submit text for fact-checking:

  • We send your query to fact-checking APIs (Google Fact Check Explorer, Gemini AI)
  • We may log anonymized queries for service improvement
  • No personally identifiable information is attached to these queries

Device Information

We may collect anonymized device information such as device type, operating system version, and app version for analytics and troubleshooting purposes.

How We Use Your Information

  • To provide AI image and video detection services
  • To perform fact-checking against verified sources
  • To improve our detection algorithms and accuracy
  • To provide customer support
  • To send important service updates (with your consent)

Third-Party Services

FakeOut uses the following third-party services:

  • Google Gemini AI - For AI image analysis and fact-checking
  • Google Fact Check Explorer - For accessing verified fact-checks
  • Sightengine - For additional image analysis
  • Vercel Analytics - For anonymous website analytics
  • Google Play / App Store - For app distribution and payments
  • Apple Sign in - For authentication via Sign in with Apple

Each of these services has their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review them.

How Your Data is Shared with Third Parties

When you scan an image or video, the following data is shared with our third-party AI detection services:

  • Image/video pixel data — sent to Sightengine, Google Gemini AI, and Google SynthID for authenticity analysis
  • Text claims — sent to Google Gemini AI and Google Fact Check Explorer for fact verification

The following data is never shared with third-party AI services:

  • Your name, email address, or account information
  • Your device identifiers or IP address
  • Any biometric or face data

You are informed of this data sharing via an in-app disclosure screen shown before your first scan. By agreeing to the disclosure and using the scanning features, you consent to this data processing.

Firebase (Google)

FakeOut uses several Firebase services provided by Google:

  • Firebase Authentication - Manages user sign-in and account identity
  • Cloud Firestore - Stores user account data and scan history
  • Firebase Analytics - Collects anonymized usage data to help us improve the app
  • Firebase Cloud Functions - Powers our serverless backend processing

Data processed through Firebase is subject to Google's / Firebase's Privacy Policy. Firebase Analytics does not collect personally identifiable information and respects device-level ad tracking preferences.

Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:

  • All data transmission is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS
  • Images are processed in memory and not written to permanent storage
  • We use secure cloud infrastructure with regular security audits
  • Access to any stored data is strictly limited

Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

  • Right to access your personal data
  • Right to request deletion of your data
  • Right to opt out of marketing communications
  • Right to data portability

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at fakeout.io@proton.me.

Children's Privacy

FakeOut is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

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