Googleannouncedon Friday that it will now allow users to remove a visible watermark from its AI generations, including images, videos, and songs. The company specified that this won’t affect the invisibleSynthID watermarkand C2PA standard-related metadata.
The change reflects an evolving approach to labeling AI-generated media, as visible watermarks can often make content less useful for professional and creative work, but the need to identify AI-generated content remains.
“We’re striking a balance here between creative control and safety: while the visible watermarks are now optional, invisible SynthID watermarks and C2PA metadata are still being used for transparency. So you can still use Gemini or Search to see if an image was AI-generated,” he wrote.
The feature is rolling out in the coming days, and once available, users will be able to go toSettings > Media Watermarkto turn the visible mark on or off.
Google is also open-sourcing a new library calledCredentioto let developers embed a local validation mechanism in their apps.
This comes afterAnthropic’s hotly debated moveto includea watermark in text and files generated by Claudeto comply with EU regulations.
Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news