Sample post, made up
ONLY 3 LEFT. This sneaker drop ends TONIGHT at midnight. Half the group chat already has a pair. Tap the link before they're gone.
For iPhone® · Free to use
Every cereal box has a nutrition label. Nothing in your feed does.
Media Nutrition Label reads how a post pulls you in
Share a post into Media Nutrition Label from the app you're already in, or send it a screenshot. Back comes a label: what the post is saying, how hard it pulls, and the persuasion techniques it seems to use.
MNL uses an AI model to read each post. Like any AI, it can be wrong — which is why it never rules a claim true or false.
Makes a claim? Tap Check this claim, in MNL Pro, to see what named sources say. See the claim check
Media Nutrition Label
Media
Nutrition Facts
Serving size1 post
WHAT IT'S SAYING
The post claims a sneaker drop has only 3 pairs left and ends at midnight, urging readers to click a link before it sells out.
The ask: Tap the link to buy before stock runs out
Emotional pullMEDIUM
urgency and scarcity push toward impulsive action, quick purchase
Persuasion techniques2
Fear or urgency framing
only 3 left, ends tonight at midnight
Bandwagon
claims half the group chat already has one
HOW TO DEFUSE IT
Name the feeling ('this is making me angry') — labeling an emotion loosens its grip. Then re-read for what's actually claimed.
ASK YOURSELF
Would you still want this if there were no countdown or scarcity claim?
* WRITTEN BY AI FROM THE POST SHOWN TO IT · AI CAN BE WRONG
DOESN'T SAY WHAT'S TRUE OR FALSE
ONE READER'S READ, NOT A MEASUREMENT
WRONG, OR ABOUT YOU? SUPPORT@MNL-APP.COM
How it works
Share it. Read it. Check it.
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Share any post into MNL
Tap Share on a post and pick Media Nutrition Label. Private account, Story or message? Take a screenshot and share that instead.
It sits in the Share sheet of the apps you already use, your browser included: anything that shares a link, a photo or a video.
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Read the label
What it's saying and what it wants you to do. How hard it pulls, and why. The persuasion techniques it seems to use, one move to defuse the first, and a question to ask yourself.
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Check the claim
When the post makes a claim worth checking, tap Check this claim (MNL Pro) to see what named sources say. The conclusion is yours.
You can also open the app and scan a screenshot, a screen recording or a link.
The claim check
See what sources say. Then decide.
When a post makes a claim worth checking, the label prints it in plain words. Tap Check this claim and MNL searches the public web, then prints a second sheet in three parts:
- THE CLAIM WE SEARCHED
- WHAT SOURCES SAY
- WHAT THE SEARCH FOUND
WHAT SOURCES SAY, NOT WHETHER THE CLAIM IS TRUE
See the whole label
Media
Nutrition Facts
Serving size1 post
WHAT IT'S SAYING
The post claims airlines deliberately hide free/available seats from customers on seat maps and urges sharing before removal.
The ask: share this post
Emotional pullMEDIUM
suspicion and urgency toward an unnamed hidden airline scheme
Persuasion techniques3
Hidden-Truth Framing
claims airlines hide free seats "on purpose"
Fear or urgency framing
warns it will be "taken down"
Engagement bait
asks reader to share before removal
HOW TO DEFUSE IT
Ask what evidence would change the poster's mind. If the answer is 'nothing', it's identity content, not information.
ASK YOURSELF
What evidence is given that seat maps are deliberately hidden versus just a booking system quirk?
CLAIM TO CHECK
The post claims airlines intentionally hide free seats on their seat maps to conceal them from customers.
Look for: airline seat map free seats policy explanation; how airline seat selection algorithms work.
* WRITTEN BY AI FROM THE POST SHOWN TO IT · AI CAN BE WRONG
DOESN'T SAY WHAT'S TRUE OR FALSE
ONE READER'S READ, NOT A MEASUREMENT
WRONG, OR ABOUT YOU? SUPPORT@MNL-APP.COM
Sample post, made up
They don't want you to know this about airline seat maps. The free seats are hidden on purpose. Share this before it gets taken down.
CLAIM TO CHECK
The post claims airlines intentionally hide free seats on their seat maps to conceal them from customers.
Look for: airline seat map free seats policy explanation; how airline seat selection algorithms work.
* WRITTEN BY AI FROM THE POST SHOWN TO IT · AI CAN BE WRONG
DOESN'T SAY WHAT'S TRUE OR FALSE
ONE READER'S READ, NOT A MEASUREMENT
WRONG, OR ABOUT YOU? SUPPORT@MNL-APP.COM
How to read a label
Every label is laid out the same way, like the panel on a box. Here is what each part means.
What it says, and what it wants
The post restated in plain words, so the claim stands without the styling. Then the ask: what it wants you to do, whether that's tap, buy, share or follow.
Emotional pull
Low, medium or high, and why. It's the calories row.
Persuasion techniques
Each one named, with the words in the post where it shows up. Tap one in the app to open its Field Guide lesson.
How to defuse it, and a question
One move against the first technique, taken from the app's Field Guide, and one question written for this post to ask yourself before you share it.
Claim to check
Only when the post makes a claim worth checking: the claim, and where to start looking. The claim check above shows one.
The serving size is always one post, and every label ends with the same stamp: written by AI, and AI can be wrong.
Every label joins your media diet
A week of labels adds up: what you're being fed, how loud it is, and which techniques keep turning up. The app adds it up for you and leaves the conclusion to you.
In the app
- DiaryYour 200 most recent labels, saved to your accountFree
- Media dietYour week of labels, added upFree
- Weekly report cardThe pattern, not just the postFree
- Field GuideEach technique, in plain wordsFree
- Your Brain, LabeledA monthly report on your whole dietMNL Pro
- Dig DeeperSearches the web around a claim in your labelMNL Pro
Free to use. Pro when you want more.
Free
Not time-limited.
- 3 scans a day, 5 a day on your first two days
- The label, for every post you share or scan
- Your diary and media diet
- The weekly report card
- The Field Guide
MNL Pro
$8.99a month
Renews monthly until you cancel.
Everything in Free, plus:
- A daily scan allowance of 50, instead of the free plan's 3
- Your Brain, Labeled: a monthly report on your whole diet
- Dig Deeper: searches the web around a claim in your label and prints what it finds
- Check this claim: what named sources say about the claim on your label
One plan, billed monthly, that renews until you cancel. There is no annual plan and no trial period. Apple takes the payment: $8.99, plus any sales tax where you live, is charged to your Apple ID when you subscribe, and again each month at the price you subscribed at until you cancel. Cancel any time in iPhone Settings → your name → Subscriptions, at least 24 hours before the month ends — that stops the next charge, and Pro stays on until the month you have already paid for is over. Apple handles refunds.
Your media is read, then discarded
In the Privacy Policy's own words:
Our server holds your media only for the seconds the read takes and then discards it — it is never written to our database. Only the label is saved, and only to your account.
We ask your permission before your first scan, we name Anthropic when we ask, and scanning stays off until you give it.
We don’t sell or rent your data, and we don’t share it for anyone’s targeted advertising; the only advertising use is measuring our own ads, as described in “If we advertise the app”.
The short version
Media Nutrition Label (MNL) is an iPhone® app for anyone who reads a feed, available on the App Store in the United States. Share a post into it, or give it a screenshot, a screen recording or a link, and it prints a label laid out like a nutrition panel: what the post is saying in plain terms, its emotional pull (low, medium or high) and why, the persuasion techniques it seems to use, one move to defuse the first one, a question to ask yourself before you share it, and the one claim worth checking.
Every label joins your media diet, so over a week you can see which techniques keep turning up. The app is free to use; MNL Pro is $8.99 a month and renews until you cancel.
Labels are written by an AI model and can be wrong. MNL reads how a post is built to persuade, not whether it is right.
Questions people ask
Still stuck? Write to support@mnl-app.com.
What is this app?
It reads a social post or video with an AI model and gives you a label laid out like a nutrition panel: what it's saying, the persuasion techniques it seems to use, and how hard it's pulling on your emotions. Every label joins your media diet, so over time you can see what your feed keeps feeding you. It's a thinking aid.
How do I scan something?
Fastest way: in Instagram or TikTok, hit Share and pick Media Nutrition Label — it lands straight in a scan. Otherwise tap the camera button in the middle of the tab bar and paste a link, pick a screenshot, or choose a screen recording. Adding the caption or transcript sharpens the read.
Can it read a whole video?
Yes. Screen-record the video and pick it on the Scan screen — the app samples frames across the timeline so it can see how the framing builds, and transcribes the audio automatically.
What does "check this claim" do?
When a label carries a claim worth checking, a Check this claim button sits under it. It sends that claim and the two search terms the label suggests — not your original screenshot — to the AI model, which searches the public web and prints a second sheet: the claim it searched, what the sources it reached say, and what the search found. It names those sources but doesn't link them, and the names are the model's own, so treat them as where to start. It doesn't rule on the claim. When nothing turns up, it says that finding nothing is not a finding. The search takes longer than a scan. Check this claim is an MNL Pro feature; the button tells you how many you have left before you spend one.
What does "dig deeper" do?
It sends your label — not your original screenshot — to the AI model, which searches the public web and reports where the claim seems to have come from, what other sources say about it, and what the post left out. It paraphrases those sources and names them; it does not link them, and the names are the model's own, so treat them as where to start checking rather than as a citation. Dig Deeper is an MNL Pro feature.
Where do my scans go?
Each one is saved to your account (the app keeps your 200 most recent) and joins your media diet — the running picture of what your feed serves you. Revisit them on the Diet and Diary tabs; export or clear them anytime under You → Your Data.
Is Media Nutrition Label on Android or the web?
Not today. It is an iPhone app, available on the App Store in the United States. This site carries the sample label above, the price and the legal pages; the scanning happens in the app.
What does it cost?
The app is free to use, and the free plan is not time-limited. MNL Pro is $8.99 a month, billed by Apple, and renews until you cancel. Pro raises the daily scan limit and adds the monthly Brain report and Dig Deeper. Cancel in iPhone Settings → your name → Subscriptions, at least 24 hours before the month ends.
Does Media Nutrition Label say whether a post is right?
No. It reads how a post is built to persuade — the techniques and the pull — and leaves the conclusion to you. When a post carries a claim worth checking, the label says what you'd need to know and names two places to start looking. Check this claim then searches the public web and prints what it found. The source names are the model's own, so treat them as where to start, not as citations; finding nothing is not a finding.
What persuasion techniques does it name?
The ones in the app's Field Guide, from Manufactured Urgency to Bandwagon, each explained in plain words. Read the Field Guide.
Who makes it?
An independent app, built and run by one person in Connecticut. Media Nutrition Label is not affiliated with any news outlet or social platform. Questions and corrections go to support@mnl-app.com.
Seeing how a post is built should be as easy as reading the calories on a cereal box.
Free to use. MNL Pro is $8.99 a month and renews until you cancel.