Google’s New AI-Powered Editing Photo Tool Will Remove Watermarks
In a concerning development, people have been using a new AI model released by Google to remove watermarks from photos.
Watermarks are commonly used by photographers to protect their work from unauthorized usage. While they are not foolproof, watermarks will thwart some low-level, would-be copyright infringers.
But in a recent update to Google Gemini’s 2.0 Flash AI model — which is currently only available in a list of “experimental” features — users have been finding that the AI-powered photo editing tool is highly adept at removing watermarks.
New skill unlocked: Gemini 2 Flash model is really awesome at removing watermarks in images! pic.twitter.com/6QIk0FlfCv
— Deedy (@deedydas) March 15, 2025
Tech Crunch notes that there are already software tools available that will remove photographers’ signatures, such as Watermark Remover.io. Conversely, OpenAI’s ChatGPT will refuse a request to remove them.
But Gemini 2.0 Flash is seemingly skilled at removing complex watermarks such as those from Getty Images and Shutterstock. Once a watermark is removed, Flash adds a SynthID mark to show the files have been edited with AI but it’s possible to remove those markers, too.
Gemini 2.0 Flash, available in Google's AI studio, is amazing at editing images with simple text prompts.
It also can remove watermarks from images (and puts its own subtle watermark in instead 🤣) pic.twitter.com/ZnHTQJsT1Z
— Tanay Jaipuria (@tanayj) March 16, 2025
Users trying out Gemini 2.0 Flash also said that images of celebrities and copyrighted characters can be added to images. It is worth pointing out that this particular AI model is still experimental and labeled as “not for production.”
“Using Google’s generative AI tools to engage in copyright infringement is a violation of our terms of service,” a Google spokesperson tells Tech Crunch. “As with all experimental releases, we’re monitoring closely and listening for developer feedback.”
A New Challenger
Putting watermark removal to one side, Flash 2.0 is an intriguing addition to the world of photo editing tools. It can change lighting, remove objects, add objects, change the scenery, and even change the angle of an image just from casual text prompts.
In its review of Flash 2.0, Ars Technica compares it to Adobe Photoshop’s Generative Fill tool and says Gemini’s AI photo editing tool can receive instructions in a more natural language.
“We could see Adobe adding a more conversational AI image-editing flow like this one in the future,” writes the technology publication.
Image credits: Header image by Jeremy Gray.
