Google Pixel 9 Reimagine Feature Now Adds Invisible SynthID Watermark to AI-Generated Edits

Summary

Starting this week, images edited using the Pixel 9’s Reimagine feature in Google Photos will be watermarked with SynthID, a digital watermarking technology from Google DeepMind. This watermark is not visible to humans but can be detected by features like 'About this image' in Circle to Search and Google Lens. The purpose of SynthID is to help identify AI-generated content without compromising its quality.

While the watermark will be embedded in most generative AI edits, Google notes that some minor changes, such as altering the color of a small flower in the background, might be too subtle for SynthID to detect. This feature joins other metadata additions like IPTC metadata used by Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, and Zoom Enhance.

Google is also looking into adopting standards from the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) to further enhance content verification.