A watermark is not just “transparency.” It can reveal what tool someone used, how they work, or that an image came from a stigmatized platform. In sensitive contexts—politics, sexuality, medical issues, protest material, or private expression—that can become surveillance.
I am working on Saigon Watermarks: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/saigon-watermark/id6777061197 for detecting and removing provenence markers in AI.
The tool also removes c2pa markers, which google is now linking the device that took the photo with the photo.
scary stuff.
https://security.googleblog.com/2025/09/pixel-android-truste...
Another reason to drop both iOS and Android.
When generative AI can create such good fake images a valid c2pa linked to the source camera will become mandatory for an image to be considered authentic.