The reference image could be a new way to prove provenance in the wake of generative AI.
We’re excited to see the new AI side of Siri when iOS 27 launches, but it looks like Apple has additional tools in the works. In his analysis of the latest beta version of the operating system, 9to5Mac noticed some signals that Apple might be working on a photo authentication feature. Apple Reference Image appears to be a tool that will verify that a photo was taken with an iPhone camera. To confirm that a photo is an iPhone capture, selected sensor information and an image’s metadata can be sent to Private Cloud Compute for verification. A new Reference mode will need to be enabled on an iPhone’s camera for this authentication option to be available.
Resources to verify the source of an image in the age of AI are more critical than ever. So far, most tools involve adding a digital watermark to generative AI creations, such as those in Apple’s Image Playground and its other upcoming image-editing features. Google also continues to expand its SynthID AI watermarking program. This reference image approach to creating confirmation of content provenance could be a useful counterpart to these metadata watermarking efforts. Since this is all happening in an ongoing beta test, it’s possible that the reference image won’t be included when iOS 27 rolls out to the public this fall.
