Google Introduces Digital Watermarks for AI-Edited Images in Photos

Google has announced the addition of digital watermarks to images edited with AI in Photos, specifically targeting the Reimagine feature in Magic Editor on Pixel 9 devices.

Big news from Google this week—they’re stepping up their game to keep digital images honest. If you’re using the Pixel 9’s Magic Editor to give your photos a futuristic twist with the Reimagine feature, you’ll notice something new: a digital watermark. It’s Google’s way of drawing a line in the sand between what’s real and what’s been given the AI treatment.

Since its debut in 2024, Reimagine has been turning heads (and photos) with its generative AI magic, letting users tweak their snaps in ways that were once the stuff of sci-fi. But with great power comes great responsibility, and the question of ‘Is this real?’ has been getting louder. Enter Google’s answer: a little something called SynthID.

Developed by the brainiacs at DeepMind, SynthID slips a watermark into AI-altered images so subtly that you’d need to check the ‘About this Image’ feature to spot it. It’s like a secret handshake for photos, revealing whether they’ve been through the AI wringer—without messing with the image itself. Pretty neat, huh?

But here’s the kicker: not every tiny change will set off the watermark alarm. Adjust the hue of a background leaf? Probably fine. Turn your cat into a dragon? That’ll do it. It’s all part of Google’s push for transparency in the AI age, sticking to principles that keep things on the up and up.