Pixel 9 ‘Reimagine’ images adding AI watermark

2 hours ago 1

Edits generated by the Pixel 9’s Reimagine feature inside the Google Photos Magic Editor will now be watermarked with SynthID.

SynthID (from Google DeepMind) adds a digital watermark to AI-generated content, including images, videos, music, and text, without compromising quality. It’s not visible to people, but detectable by features like “About this image” in Circle to Search and Google Lens. Imagen already uses it.

When you make generative AI edits (e.g., change the background or add elements) to pictures with Reimagine on the Pixel 9, Google Photos will embed the SynthID watermark. The safety feature is rolling out this week.

However, Google warns that some Reimagine edits “may be too small for SynthID to label and detect.” An example of this is changing the “color of a small flower in the background of an image.”

This joins how Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, and Zoom Enhance already add IPTC metadata to their outputs. Back in October, the Google Photos Details sheet was updated with an “AI info” section that identifies whether a work was “Edited using Generative AI” or a “Composite of captured elements” (like Best Take or Add Me).

Looking ahead, Google is looking into work from the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA).