# A Lightweight Double Compression Detector for HEIF Images Based on Encoding Information

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a lightweight method to detect double compression in HEIF images, improving on previous approaches by not relying heavily on quantization history.

## Contribution

A new lightweight image classifier for HEIF double compression detection that is less dependent on quantization history.

## Key findings

- The proposed model outperforms the previous method in detecting double-compressed HEIF images.
- The lightweight model achieves excellent detection accuracy despite its simplicity.
- The approach is effective regardless of the order of compression quality parameters.

## Abstract

Extensive research has been conducted in image forensics on the analysis of double-compressed images, particularly in the widely adopted JPEG format. However, there is a lack of methods to detect double compression in the HEIF format, which has recently gained popularity since it allows for reduced file size while maintaining image quality. Traditional JPEG-based techniques do not apply to HEIF due to its distinct encoding algorithms. We previously proposed a method to detect double compression in HEIF images based on Farid’s work on coding ghosts in JPEG images. However, this method was limited to scenarios where the quality parameter used for the first encoding was larger than for the second encoding. In this study, we propose a lightweight image classifier to extend the existing model, enabling the identification of double-compressed images without heavily depending on the input image’s quantization history. This extended model outperforms the previous approach and, despite its lightness, demonstrates excellent detection accuracy.