Google is making visible watermarks optional for AI-generated images, videos, and music from its Gemini, Nano Banana, Omni, and Lyria models. Invisible SynthID watermarks and C2PA metadata will remain embedded for transparency, with a new open-source library called Credentio to help developers validate provenance locally.
Background
Google introduced visible watermarks on AI-generated content as a transparency measure, but creators argued they reduced usability. This policy shift follows similar debates at Anthropic over mandatory text/file watermarks for EU compliance.
- Source
- TechCrunch
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026 at 12:13 AM
- Score
- 6.0 / 10