PixGuard Scanner is a free WordPress plugin, listed in the WordPress.org plugin directory, that connects your WordPress site to your PixGuard account so you can check your images for copyright risk signals. You connect it with an API key from Settings in your PixGuard dashboard, and each new image it checks uses 1 image scan from your account.

Here's what it checks, what it costs, and where its limits are.

What it actually does

Install PixGuard Scanner from the WordPress plugin directory and activate it. Then create an API key under Settings in your PixGuard dashboard (a free account works) and paste it into the plugin.

The plugin sends images to the same detection pipeline our signed-in scans use. For each image it checks, you get a 0 to 100 risk score with the signals behind it.

What we check:

Fingerprint matches. We compare each image against a database of reference image fingerprints, mostly from public collections such as Wikimedia Commons. A match tells you the image has been published elsewhere, so it's worth checking where it came from and under what license.
Visible watermarks. We look for watermark text and logos from 7 stock agencies (Shutterstock, Getty Images, Adobe Stock, iStock, Alamy, 123RF and Dreamstime), plus tiled watermark patterns across the image.
EXIF, IPTC and XMP metadata. Some agencies and photographers leave copyright strings or rights-management data in their files. We read those fields.
AI-generation estimate. If an image looks AI-generated, we flag it. Sometimes useful, sometimes a false positive on heavily-edited photos, always informative.
Source lookup. On Pro and Business, high-risk images also get a source lookup that shows web pages where a matching image appears, which helps you work out the likely source. Those plans also add AI similarity matching, which can match edited or cropped copies of images PixGuard has on file to compare against.

Why a plugin instead of a URL scan

We already had a hosted scanner where you paste a site URL, and it still works on any public site. A URL scan reads the HTML your server sends, doesn't run JavaScript, and follows links across up to 50 pages per scan, so it only sees images that appear on published pages.

We built the plugin so you can run checks from your WordPress admin. When you decide to replace or remove a high-risk image, you'll do that in WordPress anyway, so it helps to check from there too.

A URL scan can't see images that aren't on any published page, such as drafts and unattached uploads, so review those by hand.

How long does an audit take

It depends on how many images you check and on your plan. Images PixGuard has already analyzed come back from cache, at no cost, so repeat checks don't use image scans again. If your account runs out of image scans, checking stops until you add more.

Pricing

The plugin is free to install from WordPress.org. Checking images uses your PixGuard account: each new image uses 1 image scan, and images PixGuard has already analyzed cost nothing. A free account includes 30 image scans, valid for 30 days after signup, with no credit card required. For a small site, that's enough for a first look.

Paid plans add:

Pro ($29/mo or $290/yr, about 250 images a month): similarity matching for edited or cropped copies, AI vision review of borderline images, source lookup for high-risk images, and weekly monitoring of up to 3 sites
Business ($79/mo or $790/yr, about 1,000 images a month): everything in Pro, plus daily or weekly monitoring of up to 10 sites, API access, and top queue priority

If you'd rather not subscribe, image packs (85, 270, 750 or 1,700 images for $20, $60, $150 or $300) never expire.

Be honest with yourself about which tier you actually need. A free account suits a first look at what's already there. The paid tiers are for bigger sites and ongoing checks: more images each month, plus scheduled re-scans of your site with an email summary. If you upload images rarely, a free account or an occasional image pack may be all you need.

Questions we get a lot

Will the scan slow my site down?

The analysis runs on PixGuard's servers through our API, not on your WordPress server, so the heavy work doesn't happen on your host.

Are my images stored on your servers?

We don't keep the original file. We keep the analysis result and a fingerprint of the image, so the next time the same image is checked we can return the cached result at no cost.

What about SVG files?

SVG files aren't analyzed. Vector graphics don't have raster fingerprints, so copyright detection on them isn't meaningful.

Getting started

Two paths, depending on where you want to start.

If you want a quick check with no install: paste a page URL into the free scanner. We check the 3 largest images on the page you enter, up to 3 times a day, no signup. Results usually take under a minute.

If you want to check from inside WordPress: install PixGuard Scanner from WordPress.org, create a free account, create an API key under Settings in your dashboard, and paste it into the plugin. There's more on how it fits a WordPress site on PixGuard for WordPress.

Not on WordPress? With a free account, our website scanner works on any public URL: it follows links across up to 50 pages and runs the same checks as the plugin. For the manual side, see our guide to checking the rest of your site beyond uploads.

We built this because the people who chase copyright infringers on small WordPress sites have automation and the defenders mostly don't. Now you have something. It's free to start. If you find something surprising on your site, reply to your welcome email and tell us. We read every one.