A tool for learning,
not a shortcut.
Solve by Photo is designed to help you understand problems — not to do your work for you. Here’s how to use it in a way that actually improves your grades and doesn’t put your academic record at risk.
Our position on academic integrity
We built this tool knowing it would be used by students under pressure. That’s exactly the context we designed for. But there’s a clear line between using a tool to learn faster and using a tool to avoid learning entirely — and crossing that line creates real consequences.
Submitting AI-generated work as your own, in violation of your school’s academic integrity policy, is academic dishonesty. Schools detect it. Consequences are serious. And beyond the risk, it doesn’t actually help you — the exam you’re studying for won’t have the tool available.
The step-by-step format exists because we believe showing every stage of a solution is more valuable than just providing the answer. If you read through the steps and understand why each one was taken, you’ve learned something you can reproduce independently. That’s the goal.
What responsible use looks like
There’s a meaningful difference between using AI assistance to support learning and using it to replace it. Here’s how we think about it:
- Check your own working after attempting the problem yourself
- Read the steps to understand a method you haven’t seen before
- Identify where your approach went wrong
- Use as a study tool when preparing for an exam
- Verify teacher solutions or textbook answers
- Generate practice problems to test yourself
- Help a child understand their homework alongside them
- Copy the solution directly into a graded assignment
- Submit AI-generated work without attempting the problem
- Use during a closed-book exam or timed assessment
- Represent AI solutions as your own understanding
- Use in violation of your institution’s explicit AI policy
Why copying answers doesn’t work — even if you don’t get caught
This might be the more important point. Even if submitting a copied solution doesn’t result in disciplinary action, it still doesn’t help you. Here’s why:
Exams test the method, not the answer
In most STEM subjects, examiners award the majority of marks for the working — for demonstrating that you can select the right approach, apply it correctly, and follow the logic through to a conclusion. A correct answer with no working often scores zero. An incorrect answer with correct method often scores partial credit. If you’ve only ever seen the final answer, you have no working to show.
The next problem will be different
Homework problems are variations on a type. The exam will present a different variation of the same type. If you understand the method — what principle applies, why, and how — you can handle any variation. If you’ve only seen one specific solution, a rephrased version of the same problem will stop you cold.
The knowledge gap compounds
In cumulative subjects like mathematics, chemistry, and physics, each topic builds on the last. If you shortcut through Week 4’s material by copying solutions, Week 6’s content — which assumes Week 4 — becomes incomprehensible. The short-term relief creates a larger problem later.
How to use Solve by Photo effectively
Step 1: Attempt the problem first
Before uploading, spend time genuinely attempting the problem. Even a wrong attempt is valuable — it forces you to engage with the material and makes the solution more meaningful when you read it.
Step 2: Compare your method, not just your answer
When you get the solution, don’t just check whether your final number matches. Compare your approach to the method shown. Did you select the same formula? Did you set up the equation the same way? Where did your working diverge from the correct path?
Step 3: Read every step
The full step-by-step solution is the most valuable part of the output — more valuable than the final answer. Reading through each step and understanding why it was taken is what builds the pattern recognition you need for the next problem.
Step 4: Try a similar problem from scratch
After reading a solution, close it and attempt a similar problem without looking at the method. If you can reproduce the approach on a new problem, you’ve learned it. If you can’t, go back and read the steps again with that specific gap in mind.
Built for everyone involved in learning
Students
Use it to understand methods, check your working, and prepare for exams — not to generate work you’ll submit without reading. The tool gives you the most when you engage with the steps, not when you copy the answer.
Teachers and Tutors
Use it to generate example solutions, verify answer keys, or create worked examples for classroom explanation. The step-by-step format matches how good teachers present solutions on the board.
Parents
Use it to understand your child’s homework well enough to guide them through it — not to do it for them. The explanations are written clearly enough for non-specialists to follow and explain.
Use it to actually learn.
The tool is most valuable when you bring a genuine attempt and read the solution to understand the method.
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