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Introduction to RealScan

Everything you need to get started with RealScan — account access, supported file types, upload tips, and how to run your first scan.

Written by Emily Essig
Updated over a week ago

Welcome to RealScan, Reality Defender’s web platform for detecting AI-generated or manipulated media across images, videos, audio, and text.

Whether you’re a journalist verifying footage, a trust-and-safety analyst, or a researcher testing detection models, RealScan lets you upload media and get clear, explainable results.


Create or Access Your Account

  • New to Reality Defender? Create an account at app.realitydefender.ai.
    All new users get access to our API and SDK. To import & analyze media directly in the web app, select Upgrade Plan → Analyst, or contact Sales.

  • Joining an Enterprise account? You’ll receive an email invitation to join. Follow the link to set your password and sign in.


Supported Files

RealScan formats & limits (API supports additional formats noted below)

Type

Formats

Max Size

Notes

Image

jpg, jpeg, png, gif, webp

10 MB

Use original files; avoid screenshots or heavy compression.

Video

mp4, mov

100 MB

Avoid black bars and blurry faces; one fake face can flag the whole clip.

Audio

flac, wav, mp3, m4a, aac, ogg

20 MB

Single-speaker only (≥ 9 seconds). Noisy or multi-speaker clips may return “N/A.”

Text

txt or pasted input

2,000 characters

English input recommended; see language note below.

Batch uploads: RealScan supports up to 10 files at a time.

Language support (text/audio): Production support targets English (all accents). Our methods are language-agnostic and can be extended to other languages on request.


Upload Tips for Best Results

  • Use original, uncompressed media whenever possible.

  • Keep faces clear and in focus; avoid extreme crops.

  • Don’t add black borders (pillarboxing/letterboxing).

  • For scenery or non-face content, detection is improving continuously; results may vary.


Run Your First Scan

  1. Click Upload Media or drag & drop your file.

  2. Or paste a social link from X (Twitter), YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram.

  3. RealScan analyzes your file and displays results when processing completes.

Timing: Processing time varies by file size/quality and system load. During high traffic, scans may queue briefly.


Read Your Results

Every scan includes:

  • Overall Results Score — a number indicating the likelihood that the content has been manipulated or AI-generated

  • Final Conclusion — Authentic, Suspicious, or Manipulated, determined by Reality Defender's models and, if enabled, Context and Metadata analysis

  • Model indicators — visual signals showing which detection models were triggered​

For a full explanation of how to interpret your results, see Understanding your Results.


Manage Your Workspace

Your scan history, account settings, and team management are all accessible from the sidebar. For a full overview of the dashboard and navigation, see Navigating the Dashboard.


Privacy & Security

  • Files are encrypted in transit and at rest on AWS.

  • Optional delete-after-processing configuration.

  • We never train our detection models on customer data.

  • Models focus on signal/artifact analysis (not metadata content).

  • The platform maintains a range of US/UK/EU certifications and have completed SOC 2 and GDPR certification.


Need Help?


Next Steps

  • Learn to interpret your results: Understanding your Results

  • Questions about your plan or access? Contact your Customer Success Manager.

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