T ueCame a Files Patent for Image Authenticity Verification System and Begins Collaboration with Japan Fire and Disaster Prevention UNITE Organization

T ueCame a Inc. (Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture; Representative Director: Takeru Koike) has filed a patent application for an “image authenticity verification system” that allows third parties to verify the authenticity of captured images even after they are posted on social media (Japanese Patent Application No. 2026-34680). The company has also begun collaborating with the Japan Fire and Disaster Prevention UNITE Organization (UNITE) to advance implementation in disaster prevention settings. T ueCame a Inc. develops its own applications and provides commissioned development services. Background: The moment an image is posted on social media, evidence disappears, and there is no way to prevent editing. As fake images create a range of social problems, current technologies for proving the authenticity of digital images face two fundamental challenges. First is the problem of disappearing metadata. Many social media platforms automatically remove Exif information, including shooting date, time, and location metadata, when images are uploaded. Electronic signature technologies adopted by major camera manufacturers often depend on the image file itself, and lose their evidentiary value once the file is processed by social media platforms or captured as a screenshot. For images that have spread across social media, it is not possible to later prove when and where they were taken. Second is the lack of a way to prevent post-capture editing. Existing camera apps save captured images to the device first. This makes it technically easy to edit them with generative AI or retouching software before posting them on social media, and there is no way to prove that a captured image has not been edited. Although these two issues may appear separate, their root cause is the same: authenticity depends on the image file itself. Patent technology overview: Proving authenticity with an “ID.” This patented system does not rely on conventional Exif information or electronic signatures. Instead, it proves image authenticity through server-side original data management and ID-based linking. The mechanism consists of three steps. First, recording at the moment of capture: When a user takes a photo with T ueCame a, the image data and the latitude, longitude, and time of capture are immediately sent to a management server and stored in a database. Because this data is managed independently of the Exif area inside the image file, it is not affected even if social media platforms remove metadata. Second, issuing a unique ID: Based on the received data, the server immediately generates a globally unique ID. When posting the image on social media, the user only needs to copy and attach this ID string to the post, enabling viewers to verify the image’s authenticity. Third, verification by anyone: A third party can simply enter the ID shown in the social media post into T ueCame a’s search form to instantly check the original image, capture time, and capture location. The system also supports video and burst-shot data, allowing characteristic scenes from multiple frames to be integrated into a single file for recording and verification. This makes it possible to preserve dynamic field conditions with authenticity intact while reducing data volume. The design allows users to capture with the T ueCame a app, have the data recorded, and search it later, leaving no room for tampering in between. Collaboration with UNITE: Supporting the quality of initial response in disaster prevention settings. To create opportunities connecting disaster prevention and citizens, UNITE has produced a fire engine-style food truck, a popular project among children and local residents. T ueCame a has now begun collaborating with the Japan Fire and Disaster Prevention UNITE Organization, an organization where firefighters, volunteer fire corps members, and disaster prevention professionals work together. In recent years, as natural disasters such as torrential rain, earthquakes, and landslides have become more severe and more frequent, the importance of initial response at disaster sites has increased further. Disaster response faces a fundamental challenge: decisions often cannot be made without going to the site and seeing the situation firsthand. For example, during a fire report, it is not easy for a caller to calmly and accurately communicate information such as how many meters high the flames are, whether the building is wooden or reinforced concrete, or whether gas cylinders are nearby. However, the accuracy of field information has a major impact on initial response decisions. The quality of those decisions directly affects dispatch structure, prioritization, allocation of firefighting resources, and ultimately the accuracy of the overall response. Especially in situations where earthquakes or heavy rain cause multiple disasters at the same time, deciding which site should be prioritized and where limited personnel, vehicles, and equipment should be deployed becomes a life-critical decision. If T ueCame a’s “authentic images” make it possible to understand damage conditions and the surrounding environment before arriving on site, responders can gain an overview of the situation and make more appropriate initial decisions and resource allocations. Through its collaboration with UNITE, T ueCame a will directly reflect knowledge from firefighting and disaster prevention sites into product development while verifying the system’s feasibility in disaster response. In the future, the company aims for this mechanism to be used at firefighting and disaster prevention sites across Japan, becoming social infrastructure that helps allocate limited firefighting resources more appropriately and save as many lives as possible. Japan Fire and Disaster Prevention UNITE Organization An organization where active firefighters, volunteer fire corps members, and disaster prevention professionals work together. Through fire engine-style food trucks, disaster prevention seminars, and co-creation with companies, it works toward “disaster prevention created together.” https://ma oo 066426.studio.site/ Comment from T ueCame a’s Representative “Before being a technology to counter fake images, T ueCame a aims to be infrastructure that supports initial response decisions. Through our collaboration with UNITE, we will continue refining the functions truly needed in disaster prevention settings. This patent application is the first step in presenting that technological foundation to society.” (Representative Director Takeru Koike) T ueCame a Inc. Company name: T ueCame a Inc. Representative: Representative Director Takeru Koike Address: Room 6190, KoKoRo Building, 10-10 Daikoku-machi, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture Established: January 2026 Business: Development and provision of image authenticity verification systems URL: https://t uecame a.studio.site/