About Authentk
The facts, the founder, and a press kit. For anything else, [email protected].
What Authentk is
Authentk is an iPhone app that proves a selfie is real: taken right now, by that person, unedited. The phone signs the photo against a live cryptographic challenge, and anyone can verify it by scanning a QR code or opening a link. They do not need the app.
Authentk proves photo authenticity. It is not an identity check: it does not verify a legal name, age, or background.
How it works
- Open Authentk and tap Verify Now. The app asks our server for a one-time challenge that is only valid for a few seconds.
- Take one selfie. The photo is captured live in the app, never picked from the camera roll. The iPhone's Secure Enclave signs the photo together with the challenge and the time, so the proof cannot be moved onto an old, edited, or generated image.
- Share the result. The saved photo carries a Verified by Authentk watermark, the timestamp, and a QR code. Scanning it, or opening the link, shows whether the photo you were sent is the exact one that was verified.
Who it's for
- Marketplace and classifieds. Confirm who is showing up before you open your door or hand over cash.
- Roommate and sublet searches. Verify a future housemate is a real person before you pay a deposit.
- Freelance clients. Check the person you are about to work with, or for, is who they say they are.
- Online dating. Stop catfishing before the first date.
Facts
| Platform | iPhone (iOS). Android is on the roadmap, no date. |
|---|---|
| Status | Open TestFlight beta: authentk.com/beta. App Store launch planned for November to December 2026. |
| Pricing | Trying Authentk is free: every new account gets 30 days with everything unlocked. After that, Pro is $6.99 per month or $44.99 per year, or a one-time $99.99 Founder lifetime purchase for the first 500 buyers. Checking someone else's verification is always free and needs no app. |
| Pro feature | Request a live verification from anyone by link. You receive a signed, watermarked photo; every record of the request is deleted within 24 hours. |
| For platforms | A photo-verification API for dating apps and marketplaces, in private preview. Ask about early access. |
| Patent | Patent pending. |
| Company | HSL Bedrock Holdings, LLC, United States. |
| Contact | [email protected] |
Founder
Sam Luis is a cybersecurity engineer and the founder of Authentk. He built it after one too many online meetups where there was no way to know who was really on the other side of the screen. Authentk is his answer: a proof that a photo is real that anyone can check, with nothing to trust but the math.
The numbers
The figures on the homepage, with their sources.
- 1 in 3 online daters say they have been misled by someone's self-description. Consumer Reports survey of online daters: 36% of women and 34% of men (consumerreports.org).
- $1.1B reported lost to romance scams in 2023, with a median loss of $2,000. U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2023: $1.14 billion across 64,003 reports (ftc.gov).
- 1 in 2 young daters have met someone who looked different from their profile photos. Hily survey of 3,700 dating-app users, 2025: more than half; 54% of Gen Z and 62% of millennials then cut the date short (reported by Fast Company).
- 81% of dating-app users want some form of verification before meeting. DatingNews.com reader survey, 2025 (datingnews.com). Related: Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report 2025 found 40% of U.S. dating-app users have been targeted by a scam (newsroom.gendigital.com).
Press kit
App icon (SVG)Vector, any size
App icon (PNG)1024 × 1024
Social card1200 × 630 JPEG
Sample verified photo1024 × 1536 PNG, marked SAMPLE
Founder photoSam Luis, 400 × 400 JPEG
App screenshots
iPhone 16 Pro Max size, 1320 × 2868 PNG, dark appearance. Captions are suggested wording.
Boilerplate. Authentk is an iPhone app that proves a selfie is real: taken right now, by that person, unedited. The phone signs each photo against a live cryptographic challenge, and anyone can check the result by scanning a QR code or opening a link, with no app needed. Authentk is used before marketplace meetups, roommate searches, freelance work, and first dates. It is built by HSL Bedrock Holdings, LLC and is patent pending. Learn more at authentk.com.
Not to be confused with
Authentk is unrelated to authentik, the open-source identity provider for developers.
Contact
[email protected]. We respond to every message.