iOS 27.2 adds Apple Photos invisible watermark feature, here’s how it works

iOS 27.2 arrived last week, and among its changes for Apple Photos, the update adds an invisible watermarking feature when you use certain editing tools. Here’s how it works.

Starting with iOS 27.2, Apple Photos now uses SynthID tags to denote AI-modified images

In the age of AI, what looks like a genuine photo might actually be a fake—or partly fake. That’s why tools like SynthID have been used to apply invisible watermarks to AI-generated content.

Starting with iOS 27.2, Apple now uses SynthID watermarks when you make AI-generated edits to photos in Apple Photos, or create all-new images with Image Playground.

Starting with iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, macOS 27.2, and visionOS 27.2, some Apple Intelligence tools will add an invisible SynthID watermark to images that you create or edit:

- Clean Up, Extend, and Spatial Reframing in Photos

- Image Playground and Image Wand

Image Playground generates entirely new images, so it’s more what the average person would consider an “AI image.”

However, as Apple notes, the SynthID invisible watermark is also applied to genuine photos in your Apple Photos library if you use the AI-powered Clean Up, Extend, or Spatial Reframing tools to edit them.

It’s worth emphasizing the word “invisible” here. You won’t see evidence of a watermark anywhere on your photos, nor will others unless they explicitly check the image with a SynthID detector.

If you do want to check for the watermark, Apple recommends going to synthid.com, where you can upload an image and see its result.

How do you feel about Apple Photos adding SynthID watermarks in iOS 27.2? Let us know in the comments.