SourceTrace Support

Getting started

1. Tap Take photo to photograph a page, or Choose from library to pick one you already have.
2. Tap Analyze page. The factual claims appear first, then sources fill in underneath each one.
3. Tap any claim to expand it and see the sources found, each with a link you can open and read yourself.

Not ready to photograph anything? Tap New here? See an example on the home screen for a complete sample analysis.

Reading a result

What does "Well Supported" mean?

That the search found sources agreeing with the claim — not that the claim has been proven true. Every label describes the evidence that turned up, and the judgment stays yours. The same goes for "Contradicted": it means sources disagreeing with the claim were found, which is a prompt to read them, not a verdict.

A claim says no sources were found. Is it false?

No. It means a web search didn't surface anything clearly relevant. That happens often with very specific figures, claims drawn from offline or paywalled material, and anything phrased in an unusual way. Treat it as "not found," not "not true."

Why does it say "Source not identified"?

SourceTrace tries to work out which book or publication the page came from, and it deliberately says nothing rather than guess. Tap Add source to enter the title yourself — that also keeps results from the same work from citing themselves.

Some claims aren't the ones I care about

Only checkable factual statements are pulled out — opinions, arguments, and narrative are skipped by design. If a page produced too few claims, it usually had little factual text or the photo was hard to read.

Messages you might see

Too many requests

A usage limit protects the service from runaway costs. Wait a minute and try again.

Analysis limit reached

The page had more claims than one analysis can look up. Photograph a smaller portion of the page — a single column or section works well.

Analysis expired

The analysis is no longer active, usually because it sat unfinished for a while. Upload the page again to start a fresh one.

Image too large or Unsupported image type

JPEG, PNG, WebP, and GIF images are accepted. If a photo from your library is rejected or is very large, taking the picture inside the app instead usually solves it — photos captured in the app are already in a supported format and sized for upload.

The AI model had trouble or Search provider error

A temporary upstream problem. Try again in a minute; if it keeps happening, email us with the time it occurred.

Photos and permissions

Tips for a good scan

• Flatten the page and shoot straight down rather than at an angle.
• Even light — avoid a hard shadow or glare across the text.
• Fill the frame with the text you care about.
• One page at a time; a two-page spread is harder to read.

The camera or library won't open

Permission was probably declined. Open Settings → SourceTrace on your iPhone and enable Camera and Photos, then reopen the app.

History and privacy

Where is my history kept?

On your device only — it's never uploaded, so it doesn't sync between your phone and the web app. The 25 most recent analyses are kept, and older ones drop off.

How do I delete it?

Clear your history from the History tab, or delete the app. Both remove everything stored on the device.

What happens to the page I photograph?

It's uploaded so it can be read and searched, and it isn't stored on our servers or used to train AI models. The full details are in the privacy policy.

Does it work offline?

No. Reading the page and searching for sources both need a connection.

Still stuck?

Email armen.changelian@gmail.com. Tell us what you expected, what happened instead, and roughly when — that's usually enough to track it down.