How PixelWhen?Works Its Magic

A step-by-step look at how AI transforms mystery photos into documented memories.

The 5-Step Process

From upload to saved metadata, each step is designed for accuracy and ease of use.

1

Upload

Select photos from camera roll or scan prints

Supports JPEG, PNG, HEIC, and scanned images. Batch upload available.

2

Analyze

AI processes visual clues

Multiple AI models analyze lighting, landmarks, faces, fashion, and technology.

3

Discover

View estimated date, location, and identified faces

See AI discoveries with confidence scores and supporting evidence.

4

Confirm

Accept, edit, or reject AI suggestions

Fine-tune results and provide feedback to improve accuracy.

5

Save

Metadata written back to photos permanently

EXIF data updated. Reports exported for family history projects.

How Confident Is PixelWhen?

We show you exactly how confident our AI is about each discovery.

High

85-100%

Clear visual evidence with multiple confirming clues

Examples:

Visible landmarks
Clear faces
Distinct fashion
Dated technology

Medium

60-84%

Some visual evidence but limited confirming clues

Examples:

Indoor photos
Partial landmarks
Similar fashion eras
Generic backgrounds

Low

Below 60%

Limited visual evidence, mostly educated guesses

Examples:

Close-ups
Poor quality
Generic settings
No visible clues

What Helps Accuracy?

✅ Do

  • • Clear faces looking at camera
  • • Visible landmarks or signage
  • • Distinct fashion or hairstyles
  • • Technology visible in background

❌ Avoid

  • • Extreme close-ups with no context
  • • Indoor photos with generic backgrounds
  • • Heavily edited or filtered images
  • • Very low resolution or damaged photos

Privacy First Design

Your photos are personal. We treat them that way.

On-Device Processing

Face recognition happens entirely on your device

No Cloud Storage

Your personal photos never leave your device

Transparent AI

See exactly what clues the AI used for each discovery

Confidence Scores

Understand how confident the AI is about each finding

Your Photos Never Leave Your Device

For face recognition, all processing happens on your iPhone or iPad. No personal photos are uploaded to our servers. Only anonymous feature extraction (for landmark detection) uses secure cloud processing, and even then, your photos are encrypted and never stored.

Ready to Try It Yourself?

Upload your first photo and see AI photo forensics in action.

No credit card required. First 10 analyses are free.