A bizarre new trend has taken off online, which sees women 'tweaking' images of their pregnancy tests in order to try and find out whether they are expecting a baby weeks before the test suggests – and it’s proving so popular, someone has even created an app to help make the process even easier.

The impatient practice is not about faking results. Rather, women are attempting to detect whether the 'positive' mark is actually there, but is just too faint to see with the naked eye at such an early stage.

So, according to BuzzFeed, they're using Photoshop and other photo-editing tools to sharpen, enhance, and adjust the colors of images of their early tests, in the hopes that they will be able to see faint traces of a plus sign or double line, indicating that they are pregnant.

It's positive! A new practice called 'tweaking' aims to help women find out if they are pregnant sooner

Getting creative: Using tools like Photoshop and the Early EPT+ app, women are enhancing photos of their negative tests (left) to see if they might be hiding positive results (right)

Home pregnancy tests are usually most accurate when taken a week after a woman misses her period - which is about three weeks after conception.

These tests detect the hCG hormone in a woman's urine, which is produced when she is carrying a fertilized egg. If the hormone is present in high enough levels, the test's 'positive' symbol - whether a plus sign, a second line, or the word 'pregnant' - becomes visible.

But when there is a possibility of pregnancy, it can be agonizing to wait that long.

So, in an attempt to find out sooner whether they have a little one on the way, some women are taking their tests early, then posting photos of them on sites like Babycenter where they can ask other users to help them edit the images and hopefully get their results earlier.

This is where the trick comes in. Using photo-editing tools like Photoshop - or the Early HPT+ app - people then change qualities of the photo in an attempt to distinguish whether or not there is a faint, barely-visible positive symbol.

Faster results? The unscientific method involves editing photos of pregnancy tests to determine whether there is a faint positive symbol - unlike in a true positive test (pictured), where the positive symbol is clear

Before: This photo shows a negative pregnancy test, before it was tweaked

After: This photo shows the same pregnancy test, after tweaking - which purportedly shows a faint second line (near arrow)

The assumption is that if it is there, but not quite strong enough yet to be seen by the naked eye, low levels of the hCG hormone must be present.

Some women even treat tweaking others' tests as a hobby, regularly visiting forums on parenting sites to offer up their tweaking services free of charge.

However, experts warn that the tweaking practice may not always be accurate.

There are plenty of irregularities involved in taking a pregnancy test that can look like a positive result after tweaking, like a 'dye run' or even dried urine.

If a photo isn't sharp enough, blurry pixels can also create the illusion of a double line once the picture is enhanced.

Tech improvements: An app even exists to help women tweak their photos without using Photoshop

Tweak it! The app allows users to easily adjust the contrast, sharpness, and brightness of their tests

Hidden message? Women use early tests like this one, which, even if they are pregnant, still read as negative because there aren't high enough levels of hCG

Some risks: Experts warn that these results may not be accurate - and can also clue in expectant moms to early miscarriages that they would otherwise be unaware of

Many of the forums warn that the results aren't guaranteed - and advise women to follow up the tweaked test with another one by a doctor - but putting stock in these early indicators can also have emotional drawbacks.

Pelvic health expert Dr. Denise Jagroo told Daily Mail Online that finding out about a pregnancy so early on can also do more emotional harm than good. A high percentage of miscarriages occur during those early weeks, when most women do not yet know they are pregnant.