How Does Someone Successfully Alter/Change Pictures of Someone When Uploading Them to Social Media Nowadays? Can SomeoneEven Do It?

It used to be that you could upload pictures of someone else to Facebook, Instagram, etc., even without changing them, even if that someone had an account on the same platform and had the same pictures already up, and nothing would happen to your account or your pictures.

It also used to be that if you altered/resized/stretched the pictures a little bit or discolored them, they couldn't be reverse image searched on Google, etc. Can this still be fooled?

Can this still be done in 2026? Is there software that will do it? Note that I am not intending to do this, just wondering the current state of the platforms compared to years ago.

things have changed quite a bit. simple edits aren't a reliable way to avoid image matching anymore since tools can recognize visually similar pictures, not just exact copies. but google reverse search and facebook's own detection systems are different things, so an image not showing up in search doesn't mean a platform can't recognize it. i'd also be careful with using someone's photos without permission, regardless of whether anything gets flagged.

linda held said:

things have changed quite a bit. simple edits aren't a reliable way to avoid image matching anymore since tools can recognize visually similar pictures, not just exact copies. but google reverse search and facebook's own detection systems are different things, so an image not showing up in search doesn't mean a platform can't recognize it. i'd also be careful with using someone's photos without permission, regardless of whether anything gets flagged.

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Of course, I understand. But is it even possible at all nowadays on Facebook, IG, etc.?

And is there any software that makes it possible?

Quite easily actually, a little bit of deepfaking to make some minor changes to the content and you’re good to go, pretty much any language model would suffice, after content is generated remove media metadata to prevent AI flag.

lisati said:

Quite easily actually, a little bit of deepfaking to make some minor changes to the content and you’re good to go, pretty much any language model would suffice, after content is generated remove media metadata to prevent AI flag.

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But using which software? Preferably via web browser, without having to sign up for any thing/make an account. And what sort of commands do you give the AI? "Make the nose wider by 0.9%" or what? Or do you even use AI? What programs are we talking about? Thanks.

Platforms can detect reposted images using more than exact pixel matching, so resizing or changing colors won’t reliably avoid detection. Reverse image search can also find similar versions. If you’re reposting someone else’s photos, get permission rather than trying to bypass those checks.

I always thought changing the colors or editing a few parts would make a picture look different. But it seems things have changed a lot. Can AI change a picture so much that these platforms won't recognize the original? Or do they still find a way to match it?

onurbaba78 said:

Platforms can detect reposted images using more than exact pixel matching, so resizing or changing colors won’t reliably avoid detection. Reverse image search can also find similar versions. If you’re reposting someone else’s photos, get permission rather than trying to bypass those checks.

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Yes, I am talking about with permission though.