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Glossary Forensics

Error level analysis (ELA)

Error level analysis (ELA) is a technique that recompresses a JPEG image at a known quality and maps how much each area changes, to help spot parts that were edited or pasted in.

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In more detail

Areas that were saved separately, or at a different quality, often show a different error level from the rest of the picture. ELA is only a hint: sharp edges, text and heavy saving can look suspicious in a genuine image, so it should be combined with other evidence.

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Image Forensics

Analyze photos for tampering with ELA, noise analysis, clone detection and EXIF metadata extraction.

See also

  • Glossary PRNU
    PRNU (photo response non-uniformity) is the tiny, fixed pattern of noise unique to a camera's image sensor.
  • Glossary Metadata
    Metadata is data about data: the hidden or secondary information a file carries about itself, such as its author, creation date.
  • Glossary EXIF
    EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is metadata stored inside photos that records the camera, settings, date and often the GPS location.
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