Google makes visible watermarks optional for AI-generated images, videos, songs

A representative image.Google will allow users to remove visible watermarks from AI-generated images, videos and songs, while retaining its invisible SynthID watermark and C2PA-related metadata, according to TechCrunch.Josh Woodward, Google’s vice president for Gemini, said the option will be available for the Nano Banana, Omni and Lyria models.The setting to turn off visible watermarks will initially be available in Gemini and Google’s video editor Flow, with support for Search coming soon.According to TechCrunch, the change reflects Google’s approach to balancing the use of AI-generated content in creative and professional work with the need to identify it.“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,” Woodward said in a post on X.The feature will roll out over the coming days.

Once available, users can go to Settings > Media Watermark to turn the visible watermark on or off.Google open-sources validation libraryGoogle is also open-sourcing a new library called Credentio, which will allow developers to embed a local validation mechanism in their applications.The move follows Anthropic’s decision to add watermarks to Claude-generated text and files as part of its efforts to comply with European Union regulations.