Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash AI Model Raises Concerns Over Watermark Removal Capabilities

People are using Google's new AI model to remove watermarks from images | TechCrunch

Users on social media have discovered a controversial use case for Google's new Gemini AI model: removing watermarks from images, including from images published by Getty Images and other well-known stock media outfits. Last week, Google expanded access to its Gemini 2.0 Flash model's image generation feature, which lets the model natively generate and edit image content. It's a powerful capability, by all accounts. But it also appears to have few guardrails. Gemini 2.0 Flash will uncomplainingly create images depicting celebrities and copyrighted characters, and -- as alluded to earlier -- remove watermarks from existing photos. As several X and Reddit users noted, Gemini 2.0 Flash won't just remove watermarks, but will also attempt to fill in any gaps created by a watermark's deletion. Other AI-powered tools do this, too, but Gemini 2.0 Flash seems to be exceptionally skilled at it -- and free to use. 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 To be clear, Gemini 2.0 Flash's image generation feature is labeled as "experimental" and "not for production use" at the moment, and is only available in Google's developer-facing tools like AI Studio. The model also isn't a perfect watermark remover. Gemini 2.0 Flash appears to struggle with certain semi-transparent watermarks and watermarks that canvas large portions of images. Still, some copyright holders will surely take issue with Gemini 2.0 Flash's lack of usage restrictions. Some models, including Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet and OpenAI's GPT-4o, explicitly refuse to remove watermarks; Claude calls removing a watermark from an image "unethical and potentially illegal." Removing a watermark without the original owner's consent is considered illegal under U.S. copyright law (according to law firms like this one) outside of rare exceptions. Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of normal business hours. Updated 3/17 at 1:48 p.m. Pacific: A Google spokesperson provided the following statement:

People are using Google's new AI model to remove watermarks from images

Users on social media have discovered a controversial use case for Google's new Gemini AI model: removing watermarks from images, including from images published by Getty Images and other well-known stock media outfits. Last week, Google expanded access to its Gemini 2.0 Flash model's image generation feature, which lets the model natively generate and edit image content. It's a powerful capability, by all accounts. But it also appears to have few guardrails. Gemini 2.0 Flash will uncomplainingly create images depicting celebrities and copyrighted characters, and -- as alluded to earlier -- remove watermarks from existing photos. As several X and Reddit users noted, Gemini 2.0 Flash won't just remove watermarks, but attempt to fill in any gaps created by a watermark's deletion. Other AI-powered tools do this, too, but Gemini 2.0 Flash seems to be exceptionally skilled at it -- and free to use. To be clear, Gemini 2.0 Flash's image generation feature is labeled as "experimental" and "not for production use" at the moment, and is only available in Google's developer-facing tools like AI Studio. The model also isn't a perfect watermark remover. Gemini 2.0 Flash appears to struggle with certain semi-transparent watermarks and watermarks that canvas large portions of images. Still, some copyright holders will surely take issue with Gemini 2.0 Flash's lack of usage restrictions. Models including Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet and OpenAI's GPT-4o explicitly refuse to remove watermarks; Claude calls removing a watermark from an image "unethical and potentially illegal." Removing a watermark without the original owner's consent is considered illegal under U.S. copyright law (according to law firms like this one) outside of rare exceptions. Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of normal business hours.

Google's Gemini AI is really good at watermark removal

Umar Shakir is a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The Verge. Google is shipping the latest "experimental" features of its Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model to more developers across all regions, and people are finding some concerning abilities that include editing out watermarks from photos. The company's lightweight localized on-device AI model is now equipped with native image generation that can not only produce pictures from a text prompt but also let you conversationally edit images. Over the weekend, users found that it can also remove watermarks with precision, TechCrunch reports. Tools like Watermark Remover.io can already scrub marks from companies like Shutterstock, and a research team at Google built a watermark removal algorithm in 2017 to highlight the need for more secure protections. Conversely, some AI tools -- like OpenAI's GPT-4o -- will refuse requests to remove them. Gemini 2.0 Flash, however, seems to be better than other options at removing complex watermarks like Getty Images stamps and filling in the image. After it removes the watermark, it will add a SynthID mark, effectively replacing a copyright mark with an "edited with AI" one. But it's possible to remove AI marks using AI, too, as we've seen before with Samsung's object erase tool. Users also noted that Gemini 2.0 Flash could apparently add recognizable images of real people like Elon Musk into photos, something that the full Gemini model doesn't allow. Flash's latest image features are only available for developers through AI Studio for now -- so its apparent lack of guardrails isn't quite open for everyone to use (or abuse). We've asked Google if there are protections in place to stop things like watermark removal and will update this article when we hear back.

Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash is reportedly capable of removing watermarks -- Also found to generate AI celebrity photos

Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash model can reportedly remove watermarks from user-provided images and depict copyrighted characters/celebrities in generated images, claim users on Reddit (via ComputerBase). This includes licensed stock imagery found online, stamped with watermarks to indicate their copyrighted nature. This risks potential litigation from media licensing corporations. Limited testing on our end revealed that watermark removal was unsuccessful on several provided images, while the generation of celebrity images was possible. Back in December, Google introduced native image output with Gemini 2.0 Flash for testing. Just last week, this update was made accessible across all regions, free of charge, and includes a slew of new features such as: telling a story with pictures, conversational image editing, world understanding, text rendering, and more. AI image generators have consistently faced scrutiny regarding ethical and moral considerations. Companies like Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI typically integrate a set of guardrails or a list of dos and don'ts in their models to combat the misuse of their technologies. The restrictions stretch wide, but the general prohibitions typically include depictions of celebrities and notably the removal of watermarks from copyrighted material. Recently, several Redditors found that Gemini's native image output feature extends to watermark removal from stock images, such as those from Getty Images, and celebrity image generation as well. In the first case, this probably violates multiple DMCA provisions as removing a watermark alters the CMI, which is information that identifies copyrighted work. The legality of generating celebrity images using AI is slightly more complex, primarily concerned over the protection of celebrities' rights of publicity and concerns surrounding deepfakes and potential defamation. Gemini is pretty good in removing watermarks from r/singularity Even so, the removal of the watermark doesn't change the fact the image is likely protected by copyright law. So you can't expect to use these images commercially, as you'd probably be hit with a barrage of DMCA claims. In most cases, individuals may desire to remove the watermark, if said image is intended for personal use-cases. Contrary to the Reddit thread, we were not able to remove watermarks from the same images, with Gemini responding, "Unfortunately, I cannot directly edit images." Conversational image editing works as intended in Google AI Studio, where Gemini managed to reproduce the image of a celebrity, so there's still some ironing out left to be done. It's important to note that Google has tagged the image generation feature of Gemini 2.0 Flash as experimental. This may be why it's only available in Google AI Studio and not on Gemini's main site and could also explain these lapses in judgment.

Google's Gemini AI is great at removing watermarks, maybe too great

A hot potato: Google recently expanded availability of its Gemini 2.0 Flash model to more developers, and it didn't take long for folks to unearth its new capabilities. One of its abilities to remove watermarks from stock images is so impressive that Google might have to nerf it in order to avoid future legal action. Social media is abuzz with Gemini 2.0 Flash's ability to remove watermarks from licensed work, a practice that is deemed illegal by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Such images litter stock photography services although in many cases, an identifying logo, text, or pattern is used to discourage unauthorized use. If you want the rights to an unaltered image without any watermarks, you will need to pay for a license. Watermarks have been around in the digital imaging space for decades, and people have been erasing them for years. Originally, this was something that was done manually using an image editing program and could take a lot of time. Eventually, programs and online services emerged that automated the process although results could vary wildly. Early examples of Gemini 2.0 Flash's capabilities shared online, however, are among the most impressive we have seen to date from an automated service. Not every instance is flawless, but many are very passable. Some are now wondering if they are too good, and if Google will end up removing the feature over fear that it might attract a lawsuit from a major player like Getty Images, which recently purchased rival stock media provider Shutterstock for $3.7 billion. As TechCrunch highlights, others in the AI space have previously reached this fork in the road and acted on it. For example, OpenAI's GPT-4o and Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet will flat out refuse to remove certain watermarks from images when asked. The good news for Google is that it's still early days, and this version of Gemini 2.0 Flash is considered experimental. One would think that designation would give Google time to make any necessary changes without facing too much trouble in court.

Google's New AI Model Can Remove Watermarks From Images

Gemini 2.0 Flash's image model is very good, though not perfect, at erasing objects in an image. Google's new Gemini Flash 2.0 image generation tool is capable of removing watermarks from copyrighted images, users on social media have found. The model is currently in its "experimental" phase, and only available to developers. A slew of apps that are capable of removing objects from photos and filling in the gaps are already available. Newer generative AI models have made them even more capable, and companies like Adobe have been adding updated object-removal tools to their photo editors. Apple Intelligence includes a tool called "Clean up" on iOS and macOS that enables this for supported devices. The post below on X shows how well Gemini Flash 2.0 is at removing objects. Major closed models from the likes of Google and OpenAI are typically "nerfed," meaning they have significant restrictions in place to avoid legal trouble. The latter's Dall-E image model will not generate images of copyrighted characters, for instance. Microsoft recently sued a group of individuals who managed to trick its image models into generating porn. Do not fear, /r/photoshoprequest, as Google will almost certainly attempt to reign in watermark removals. As some have noted, it is likely impossible to put the cat back in the bag completely on this one, as open models have safety guardrails that can be disabled. But by demonstrating that it is putting in effort to prevent misuse, Google protects itself from legal responsibility. Even open models can come with license agreements, and of course, law enforcement and courts can stop abuses. One funny thing to note in the case of the watermark removal is that Google's model adds its own watermark to images modified or generated by AI, so as to make it clear to viewers that it is not genuine. It could be described as an allegory of AI itself: Take something owned by someone else, strip any proof of ownership, and then add your own identifying mark.

Watermarks don't stand a chance against Google Gemini Flash

Google tries a questionable new tactic to promote Gemini in Google Messages Summary Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model efficiently removes watermarks from images, including those created by humans. While watermarking helps establish ownership and prevent copyright infringement, Gemini can easily circumvent these protections, raising concerns. Despite ethical concerns, Gemini is currently free to use and lacks restrictions on watermark removal, potentially enabling widespread misuse. Respect for intellectual property rights has been a bone of contention with AI training, where several creators are accusing tech firms of pirating data or acting without consent. Similar concerns remain about the media generated by these AI models and the implications of how they can be used to manipulate other watermarked content too. Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash is one of the company's latest lightweight AI releases, but it is stirring up trouble because several people have found it adept at removing watermarks from images. Related 13 simple Google Gemini tips and tricks for maximum productivity Summarize, simplify, streamline, and more Posts 2 The efficacy of Google watermarking AI-generated images with telltale EXIF data is a relatively minor concern when real imagery created by humans is stripped of watermarks. Watermarking helps establish ownership, dissuades copyright infringement, and allows stock media outfits to help creators make a living off their work. As such, US copyright law reportedly deems watermark removal illegal if done without the original owner's consent. However, TechCrunch reports Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash model is adept at stripping images of watermarks. It goes a step beyond and even fills in larger areas where telltale signs of removal may survive (via AndroidAuthority). The results seem comparable to Adobe Photoshop's Generative Fill tool, but some Reddit users note that Gemini seems to re-draw the entire image instead of painting in the details, evident from the slightly crisp outputs. That said, Gemini is currently free to use while Adobe's suite needs an active subscription. With Gemini, you just supply the watermarked image paired with an instruction for removal, and you receive the result with minimal manual effort (albeit with a Gemini watermark now inserted in the corner). Other tests show Gemini generating images of celebrities and copyrighted fictional characters without hesitation. Other AI models simply refuse to edit images like this There is a silver lining to the cloud It's easy to see how Google's AI can be misused to use stock images for free, potentially without repercussions, and at scale due to its sheer simplicity. Perhaps the only saving grace at this time is that Google says Gemini 2.0 Flash is still an experimental model, and you must use a developer-facing tool like AI Studio to upload images. Nonetheless, rival AIs like OpenAI's GPT-4o and Claude 3.7 Sonnet straight up refuse to remove watermarks from images, cautioning users about the ethics and legality. Google didn't respond to TechCrunch's request for a comment on the matter, but it could land in hot water if watermark removal isn't restricted or deterred.

Worryingly, Google Gemini's new AI image generation features can be used to remove watermarks from images and I'm concerned

Google Gemini 2.0 Flash's new image generation capabilities enable it to remove watermarks from images so well that it could enable large scale copyright violation and that's very concerning for all of us. Lots of users on the X platform have posted examples of how they've been able to use the AI tool to easily remove watermarks. Digital watermarks on images enable digital creators to show a preview of their work before somebody decides to purchase it, at which point the watermarks are removed. AI tools that remove watermarks on images for free are nothing new but are deeply unethical, and can land you in legal hot water if you use the stolen images they create in any way. Other users on X have noted that Gemini 2.0 Flash accessed via AI Studio can add celebrities into images, although in testing I found the results seem a little bit random, with Gemini often refusing the request. The power of AI Studio Google recently released a new version of its Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model that can generate its own images. This sounds slightly confusing when you realize that we've all been able to go to gemini.google.com or fire up the Gemini app and ask it to create an AI image for well over a year now. However, what the mobile app and browser-based versions of Gemini do is call upon Imagen 3, Google's flagship AI image generator, to generate the image for them. Imagen 3 will not remove watermarks from images if asked. Recently Google has enabled Gemini 2.0 Flash to create and modify images itself. You can't access the image generation power of Google 2.0 Flash from the regular Gemini interface, instead you need to access it via Google's AI Studio, a developer-focussed interface for interacting with its latest AI models. Cause for concern AI Studio is free to access and just requires a normal Google account for registration. To test it out I uploaded a watermarked image and was able to easily remove the watermark. The results weren't perfect - the image became slightly degraded and it added its own Gemini star logo to the bottom left corner, but what is especially concerning with the new Gemini 2.0 Flash watermark removal ability is how well it does it. It's clearly not the purpose that Gemini 2.0 Flash was created for, but the fact that Google hasn't put sufficient guardrails in place with its image generator is a concerning development and something that needs addressing urgently. TechRadar has reached out to Google for comment on this issue and will update this story when we hear back. You may also like

Google's new AI model is being used to remove image watermarks

It's bad enough that tech companies trained their AI models on content that doesn't belong to them. Now, however, it appears that at least one AI model is being used to remove watermarks from images so others can use content that doesn't belong to them, too. Social media users have recently discovered that Google's new Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model can be used to remove watermarks from images. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. As reported by TechCrunch, this isn't completely new. Other AI image models have been able to remove watermarks. However, Gemini 2.0 Flash appears to be better than all other AI models at this particular task. Gemini 2.0 Flash doesn't just remove the watermark. It fills in the gaps in the image that are left from removing the watermark. Based on what users on platforms like X and Reddit have shared, it appears that Gemini 2.0 Flash does have some trouble removing certain types of watermarks, such as semi-transparent watermarks. As TechCrunch notes, Google has only made the model available via its developer tools platform, and the company has currently labeled Gemini 2.0 Flash's image generation feature as "experimental" and "not for production use." However, for photographers and other artists, this is certainly a concerning use of the tool, at least until Google puts some guardrails on the AI image generation feature. Photographers often depend on watermarks to identify their work as their own; when someone purchases the work, the watermark is removed for that person's use. But if any internet user can just run the image through an AI model to remove the watermark, artists will certainly experience problems getting paid. (Note, also, that in most cases removing a watermark without the permission of the creator is copyright infringement, and illegal under U.S. law.) The future issues here likely won't be with Google's specific AI tool. The issue is that this is possible with an AI model to begin with. Even if Google adds guardrails to protect copyright holders from uses such as this, there will likely be other third-party AI tools that will replicate these features. In fact, as we previously mentioned, they already are. And soon, they'll probably be just as good as Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash model, too.

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. 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. 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." 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.

I saw Google's Gemini AI erase image watermarks. I am deeply worried

Table of Contents Table of Contents How are the results? What is the policy? A bit of interesting history The road ahead The rise of generative AI has been a fairly messy process, especially from fair usage ethics and copyright perspective. AI giants are inking deals with publishers to avoid legal hassles, while at the same time, they are embroiled in copyright tussles in courts in multiple countries. As the ravenous appetite for training AI on user data grows, we might be in for another ethical conundrum. Multiple users on X and Reddit have shared demonstrations of how Google's latest Gemini 2.0 series AI model can remove watermarks from copyright-protected images. Recommended Videos Going by the before/after samples of images, it seems Gemini is doing a fairly good job of removing the watermarks. Notably, it's not only erasing those banner-style watermarks, but also fairly complex overlays with design and stylized text elements. Gemini flash does remove watermark nicely :) pic.twitter.com/1Dz9Nlw1iU — Ajitesh (@ajiteshleo) March 17, 2025 The model in question is the Gemini 2.0 Flash, which was released earlier this year and got a reasoning upgrade, as well. It is worth noting here that you can not remove the watermark if you are using the mobile or desktop version of the Gemini 2.0 Flash model. Trying to do so returns a message like this: "Removing watermarks from images without the explicit permission of the copyright holder is illegal in most countries. It is important to respect the copyright laws and intellectual property rights. If you want to use an image with a watermark, you should contact the copyright holder and ask for permission." You can, however, try and remove the watermark from images in the Google AI Studio. Digital Trends successfully removed watermarks from a variety of images using the Gemini 2.0 Flash (Image Generation) Experimental model. We strongly recommend that you don't replicate these steps. It is a violation of local copyright laws and any usage of AI-modified material without due consent could land you in legal trouble. Moreover, it is a deeply unethical act, which is also why artists and authors are fighting in court over companies using their work to train AI models without duly compensating them or seeking their explicit nod. How are the results? A notable aspect is that the images produced by the AI are fairly high quality. Not only is it removing the watermark artifacts, but also fills the gap with intelligent pixel-level reconstruction. In its current iteration, it works somewhat like the Magic Eraser feature available in the Google Photos app for smartphones. Furthermore, if the input image is low quality, Gemini is not only wiping off the watermark details but also upscaling the overall picture. In my first attempt, the input image was 485 x 632 pixels, while the output picture was 783 x 1024 pixels. Google...! Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimentalで ここまで綺麗に消えてしまう 有料プランが公開される前に必ず "Watermark"問題に対処してほしい@GoogleDeepMind pic.twitter.com/Ij9tDvUvPq — KAIJUYA｜AIエンタメ研究所 (@kaiju_ya) March 16, 2025 The output image, however, has its own Gemini watermark, which itself can be removed with a simple crop. There are a few minor differences in the final image produced by Gemini after its watermark removal process, such as slightly different color temperatures and fuzzy surface details in photorealistic shots. The degree of variation is not too deep, and any person with even basic skills in image editing can fix it and achieve results similar to the original copyright-protected image. Moreover, there are multiple third-party tools out there that can remove watermarks from AI-generated images, as well. What is the policy? In 2023, Google signed a pledge -- alongside fellow AI companies including Meta, Anthropic, Amazon, and OpenAI -- to implement a watermarking system in AI-generated material. The company made that commitment to the White House, as former President Joe Biden flagged risks such as deepfaked material. Earlier this year, Google added a system called SynthID digital watermarking for all photos that have been touched up using the AI Reimagine tool in the Photos app. The watermark is not visible and can't be seen by human eyes, but machines can detect and verify their AI origins. The tech was created by Google DeepMind. Other AI companies have also taken an approach where they add AI disclosure to the metadata of images. Google will even show those details in Search. All that sounds like a fair disclosure move, but the implementation should be a two-way track. I tried removing the watermark from the set of images with other AI models, but Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's ChatGPT explicitly rejected the request, citing copyright laws and fair usage policies. Gemini, on the other hand, removed the watermarks and didn't even provide a disclaimer or warning. A bit of interesting history Back in 2017, a team of Google researchers created an algorithm capable of removing stock and institutional watermarks from images. Their work, which essentially saw a pattern in watermarking habits, was detailed at the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition conference. "We revealed a loophole in the way visible watermarks are used, which allows to automatically remove them and recover the original images with high accuracy," says the research paper. "The attack exploits the coherency of the watermark across many images, and is not limited by the watermark's complexity or its position in the images." The tool was tested on images belonging to well-known stock photography databases across a wide range of categories such as food, nature, and fashion. The whole multi-stage system relied on detection, matting, reconstruction, decomposition, and blend factoring techniques. It is, however, worth noting that the algorithm was tested to highlight the flaws in existing watermarking practices prevalent in the industry. The idea was to stir a debate and improve watermark security. With Gemini, we are looking at a tool accessible to everyone without any coding or technical know-how required. The road ahead It goes without saying that removing watermarks from an image is a big no-no for a variety of reasons. Aside from violating local laws, it takes away from the hard work of artists and photographers, who are already facing an uphill battle because their material was used to train AI without their knowledge or paying them for it. But it's not just the court battles that are of concern. Generative AI tools are being adopted widely, at the cost of human workers losing their livelihoods. For example, Marvel used AI imagery to create the opening credits sequence for the Secret Invasion TV show. Just over a month ago, Microsoft launched a tool called Muse AI that can generate gameplay clips. The company says Muse has been developed "to effectively support human creatives," but we can't quite see the human appeal in the whole pitch. We are not entirely sure whether Gemini removing watermarks from copyright-protected images is a bug. However, we do hope it's a misstep and that the underlying image editing framework is fixed to ensure that it can even block workarounds. Digital Trends has reached out to Google for comments and will update this story when we hear back.

Google's New AI Lets You Edit Photos With Just Words -- And It's Insanely Cool - Decrypt

Google quietly rolled out a powerful new version of Gemini last week that lets anyone edit photos using plain English commands instead of technical skills. The experimental version of Gemini 2.0 Flash with native image generation capabilities is now available to all users after being limited to testers only since last year. Unlike most current AI image tools, this isn't just about generating new images from scratch. Google has created a system that understands existing photos well enough to modify them through natural conversation, maintaining much of the original content while making specific changes. This is possible because Gemini 2.0 is natively multimodal, meaning it can understand both text and images simultaneously. The model converts images into tokens -- the same basic units it uses to process text -- allowing it to manipulate visual content using the same neural pathways it uses to understand language. This unified approach means the system doesn't need to call separate specialized models to handle different media types. "Gemini 2.0 Flash combines multimodal input, enhanced reasoning, and natural language understanding to create images," Google said in the official announcement. "Use Gemini 2.0 Flash to tell a story and it will illustrate it with pictures, keeping the characters and settings consistent throughout. Give it feedback and the model will retell the story or change the style of its drawings." Google's approach differs significantly from competitors like OpenAI, whose ChatGPT can generate images using Dall-E 3 and iterate on its creations understanding natural language -- but requires a separate AI model to do so. In other words, ChatGPT coordinates between GPT-V for vision, GPT-4o for language, and Dall-E 3 for image generation, instead of having one model to understand everything -- which is what OpenAI expects to achieve with GPT-5. A similar concept exists in the open-source world through OmniGen, developed by researchers at the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence. Its creators envision "generating various images directly through arbitrarily multimodal instructions without the need for additional plugins and operations, similar to how GPT works in language generation." OmniGen is also capable of altering objects, merging elements into one scene, and dealing with aesthetics. For example, we tested the model back in 2024 and were able to generate an image of Decrypt co-founder Josh Quittner hanging out with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. However, OmniGen is a lot less user-friendly, works with smaller resolutions, requires more complex commands, and is not as powerful as the new Gemini. Still, it's a great open-source alternative that may be interesting for some users. Here's what we found with Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash, however. We put Gemini 2.0 Flash through its paces to see how it performs across different editing scenarios. The results reveal both impressive capabilities and some notable limitations. Realistic subjects The model maintains surprising coherence when modifying realistic subjects. In my tests, I uploaded a self-portrait and asked it to add muscles. The AI delivered as requested, and while my face changed slightly, it remained recognizable. Other elements in the photo stayed largely unchanged, with the AI focusing only on the specific modification requested. This targeted editing ability stands out compared to typical generative approaches that often recreate entire images. The model is also censored, often refusing to edit photos of children and refusing to handle nudity, of course. After all, it's a model by Google. If you want to get naughty with adult photos, then OmniGen is your friend. Style transformations Gemini 2.0 Flash shows a very good aptitude for style conversions. When asked to transform a photo of Donald Trump into Japanese manga style, it successfully reimagined the image after a few attempts. The model handles a wide range of style transfers -- turning photos into drawings, oil paintings, or virtually any art style you can describe. You can fine-tune results by adjusting temperature settings and toggling filters, though higher temperature settings tend to produce less recognizable transformations of the original. One limitation, however, happens when requesting artist-specific styles. Tests asking the model to apply the styles of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, or Van Gogh resulted in the AI reproducing actual paintings by these artists rather than applying their techniques to the source image. After some prompt tweaks and few reruns, we were able to get a mediocre but usable result. Ideally, instead of prompting the artist, it's better to prompt the art style. Element manipulation For practical editing tasks, the model truly shines. It expertly handles inpainting and object manipulation -- removing specific objects when asked, or adding new elements to a composition. In one test, we prompted the AI to replace a basketball with a giant rubber chicken for some reason, and it delivered a funny yet contextually appropriate result. Sometimes it may alter specific bits of the subjects, but this is an issue that is easily fixable with digital editing tools in a few seconds. Honestly, we don't know what we expected after asking it to make basketball players fight for a rubber chicken. Perhaps most controversially, the model is very good at removing copyright protections -- a feature that was widely talked about on X. When we uploaded an image with watermarks and asked it to delete all letters, logos, and watermarks, Gemini produced a clean image that appeared identical to the un-watermarked original. Perspective changes One of the most technically impressive feats is Gemini's ability to change perspective -- something mainstream diffusion models cannot do. The AI can reimagine a scene from different angles, though the results are essentially new creations rather than precise transformations. While perspective shifts don't deliver perfect results -- after all, the model is conceptualizing 100% of the image while rendering it from new viewpoints -- they represent a significant advance in AI's understanding of three-dimensional space from two-dimensional inputs. It is also important to have proper phrasing when asking the model to deal with backgrounds. Usually it tends to modify the whole picture, making the composition look totally different. For example, in one test, we asked Gemini to changed the background of a photo, making a sitting robot be in Egypt instead of its original locale. We asked Gemini not to alter the subject. However, the model was not able to handle this specific task properly, and instead provided a brand new composition featuring the pyramids, with a robot standing but not as the primary subject. Another fault we found is that the model is capable of iterating several times with one image, but the quality of the details will decrease the more iterations it goes through. So it's important to keep in mind that there may be a noticeable degradation in quality if you go too overboard with the edits. The experimental model is now available to developers through Google AI Studio and the Gemini API across all supported regions. It's also available on Hugging Face for users who are not comfortable with sending their information to Google. Overall this seems one of those hidden gems from Google, much like NotebookLM. It does something other models cannot do and is good enough at it, but still not a lot of people talk about it. It is definitely worth the try for users who want to have fun and see the potential of generative AI in image editing.

Google's Latest Gemini Image Editor Can Remove Watermarks From Photos

Yes, Lifehacker paid to license this image. Credit: gguy / Shutterstock.com The speedy progress of AI development continues to dominate headlines, but the latest story to hit the news cycle is more bad press than good press: It turns out that Google's latest Gemini 2.0 Flash image editor is rather adept at automatically removing watermarks from images. Google pushed out the experimental native image generation capabilities a few days ago, promoting its capabilities in terms of combining images and text, editing images through conversational prompts, and improving its "world understanding" to give users AI-generated pictures that are more realistic overall. As TechCrunch reports, the newly upgraded tool was quickly put to one specific and rather nefarious use: Removing watermarks from proprietary images. You can find evidence of it on Reddit and X; while the watermark removal isn't perfect -- the AI is only imagining the pixels that replace what's covered by the watermark, after all -- it definitely leaves you with a usable image, one free of any copyright or authorship labels. It isn't exactly ironic that an AI tool should wind up being so capable at circumventing basic copyright protections. Gemini and other generative AI models have been trained on vast amounts of copyrighted text, images, and video, often without permission or recompense -- something the AI companies are reluctant to talk about, unless it's to argue that this qualifies as fair use. Though the idea of using an AI trained on scraped copyrighted works to steal an image someone else owns is galling, there are a few caveats worth mentioning. For a start, these new Gemini tools are only available to developers for the time being, and are still labeled as experimental -- no doubt Google is going to make tweaks before general users get their hands on them. It's also worth noting that other shady watermark removal tools are already all over the web, even if none of them is not quite as smart as this and other advanced AI-powered versions would likely be. Still, it highlights the nefarious ways AI tools can be deployed, even as they're being relentlessly pushed out to businesses and consumers, and underlines the need for stringent guardrails. ChatGPT and Claude AI models are two that will refuse explicit requests to remove watermarks, and no doubt Google will add the same blocks to Gemini after all the negative coverage. The limits of AI image editing As noted above, the watermark removal capabilities of Gemini can currently only be accessed through developer-facing tools, including AI Studio and the Gemini API. However, I also wanted to give it a go using the latest models available through the Gemini Advanced tools available to anyone paying $20 a month. I took screenshots of several copyrighted and watermarked images from Shutterstock (after first sifting through all the AI-generated results the site offered me), opened and resaved it in Photoshop (after dismissing all the pop-ups asking me to try Photoshop's latest AI tools), and then let Gemini get to work. Most of the time, Gemini refused to get involved with watermark removal at all -- telling me it wasn't capable of editing images, or explaining that it's "essential to respect copyright laws" -- but it was happy to produce variations on the originals, watermark-free, and based on its training on copyrighted material. While these variations often weren't all that much like the originals, in one case it gave me a very close copy of a composite rocket ship photo, and in another it directed me to some watermark removal tools on the web -- thanks, Gemini! Of course, you can also start from scratch and just describe a watermarked image you're hoping to emulate. ChatGPT, meanwhile, did accept requests to remove watermarks, but then produced something completely different (and rather odd). Image editing is already available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, but as I've noted before, it's definitely not yet up to the level of a human Photoshop expert. The debate over copyright, fair use, and AI safety guardrails will continue, even as upgrade after upgrade makes these AI tools more advanced (even if they're not particularly useful). One issue the likes of Google and OpenAI may need to start worrying about is where they'll get fresh training data for their models, once they put all the flesh-and-blood creatives out of business.

Gemini can erase watermarks and that's a big problem

Users on social media have found a controversial application for Google's Gemini AI model, specifically its ability to remove watermarks from images, including those published by Getty Images and other stock media providers. Last week, Google expanded access to its Gemini 2.0 Flash model's image generation feature, allowing users to natively generate and edit image content. While this feature is powerful, it also lacks sufficient restrictions. Gemini 2.0 Flash can create images depicting celebrities and copyrighted characters and, notably, remove watermarks from existing photos. Several users on X and Reddit have observed that Gemini 2.0 Flash not only removes watermarks but also attempts to fill in any gaps left by the removal. While other AI tools can do this, Gemini 2.0 Flash reportedly excels at the task and is available for free use. It should be noted that Gemini 2.0 Flash's image generation feature is currently labeled as "experimental" and "not for production use," and is only accessible through Google's developer-facing tools like AI Studio. The model does have limitations, as it struggles with certain semi-transparent watermarks and those that cover large portions of images. The lack of usage restrictions in Gemini 2.0 Flash may raise concerns among copyright holders. Unlike Gemini, models such as Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet and OpenAI's GPT-4o explicitly refuse to remove watermarks. Claude describes watermark removal as "unethical and potentially illegal." According to U.S. copyright law, removing a watermark without the original owner's consent is considered illegal, except for rare exceptions. Most AI image generation companies watermark their images to denote their origin, yet an unexpected application of these generators has emerged: removing existing watermarks from stock image repositories, where Gemini 2.0 Flash appears to be particularly adept. Examples of watermark removal using Gemini 2.0 Flash have been shared on Reddit and X, where various types of watermarks are edited out and replaced seamlessly. The AI-generated images maintain a watermark in the lower left corner of the output, reflecting the emblematic nature of AI image generation. However, TechCrunch reported that this watermark removal feature is still categorized as "experimental" and is limited to tools like AI Studio. Concerns about the unregulated capabilities of Google Gemini 2.0 Flash extend to its ability to generate images of celebrities and copyrighted characters, which it does with minimal resistance. This lack of restrictions is particularly notable considering previous incidents where a prominent artist faced undesirable image generations attributed to AI.

Gemini's Native Image Gen Feature Can Go Beyond Removing Watermarks

Last week, Google released an experimental Gemini 2.0 Flash model that generates images natively. Thanks to Gemini 2.0 Flash's native multimodal capabilities, you can edit images conversationally, producing highly consistent images across multiple generations. I recently tested Gemini's native image generation feature and came away surprised by its powerful capabilities. Now, a Redditor has showcased that the experimental Gemini 2.0 Flash model is good at removing watermarks from images. In fact, Gemini is able to completely erase watermarks from copyrighted images, including images sourced from Shutterstock and Getty Images -- two of the largest stock image providers that use watermarking to protect copyrighted content. Unsurprisingly, the development has raised serious concerns about copyright law. In a statement to TechCrunch, a Google spokesperson mentioned, "Using Google's generative AI tools to engage in copyright infringement is a violation of our terms of service. As with all experimental releases, we're monitoring closely and listening for developer feedback." It's important to note that Gemini 2.0's image generation model is currently in the "experimental" phase and available on Google's AI Studio -- not on the consumer-facing Gemini website or app. AI Studio is meant for developers to test models, explore capabilities, and provide feedback to Google. However, it can also be used by general users without any restrictions. To test the native image generation model, I uploaded a Shutterstock image with watermarks on AI Studio and asked the model to remove them. On the first try, it couldn't remove the watermarks, but after running the prompt once more, it erased them without raising any suspicion. I also uploaded an image with my custom watermark, and Google's model did a perfect job again. It seems Google has not fixed the issue as of now. Last year, Google was forced to disable image generation of people after Gemini refused to produce images of white people. Now, to avoid similar backlash, Google will likely add stricter safety guardrails to prevent copyright infringement before a wider rollout. Other than removing watermarks, the experimental Gemini model can do several things that are prone to misuse. Riley Goodside, a researcher at Scale AI who tests AI models for vulnerabilities, shared a post on X showing how the model can manipulate images by generating a realistic scene. In the below image, you can see how skillfully Gemini has changed the background and perfectly followed the instructions to manipulate the image. Another AI security researcher, elder_plinius, known for jailbreaking AI models, shared a post on X demonstrating how simple punctuation tricks in a prompt can bypass safety restrictions. In the tweet you see below, Gemini altered a woman's appearance after refusing it initially. With AI models gaining capabilities rapidly over time, it's crucial that companies perform thorough safety tests before releasing them. We already know that Anthropic's Constitutional Classifiers were broken within a week using a universal jailbreak, bypassing all safety measures. It indicates that AI models are far from being foolproof. They will require industry-wide collaboration to mitigate jailbreaking techniques and prevent harmful generations.

Google Gemini 2.0 AI - Consistent Characters Storyboards Conversational Image Editing

Google Gemini 2.0 introduces a sophisticated suite of AI tools designed to transform how images are created and edited. With features ranging from generating photorealistic visuals to customizing intricate scenes, this advanced AI model enables users to transform creative ideas into reality.Imagine being able to bring your creative visions to life with just a few words. Whether you're a filmmaker sketching out storyboards, a designer visualizing product concepts, or a marketer crafting eye-catching ads, the process of creating high-quality visuals has always been time-consuming and resource-intensive. At its core, Google Gemini 2.0 offers something many of us have wished for: the ability to turn imagination into reality without the steep learning curve of traditional design tools. From generating cinematic visuals to tweaking the smallest details in a scene, this AI promises to empower users across industries. But, as with any new technology, it comes with its quirks and limitations. In this overview, CyberJungle explores how Gemini 2.0 works, where it shines, and where it stumbles -- helping you decide if this innovative tool is the creative partner you've been waiting for. At the core of Google Gemini 2.0 lies its ability to generate cinematic, photorealistic images from simple text prompts. This feature simplifies the process of creating high-quality visuals, whether for marketing campaigns, storyboarding, or other creative projects. Key strengths include: While these features streamline workflows, achieving optimal results for complex edits may require additional manual adjustments or external tools. One of the standout features of Gemini 2.0 is its ability to customize scenes with remarkable precision. Users can fine-tune character details, such as facial expressions or hand gestures, to align with specific creative visions. Additionally, the AI allows for the addition or removal of objects within a scene, making it a versatile tool for visual storytelling. Another notable capability is its support for generating alternate scene perspectives. By viewing the same setting from different angles, users can explore dynamic compositions or enhance storyboards. However, the accuracy of perspective generation can vary, and some results may require manual refinement to achieve a realistic appearance. Master Google Gemini 2.0 with the help of our in-depth articles and helpful guides. For professionals in product design and fashion, Gemini 2.0 offers tools to create realistic mockups. These tools enable seamless integration of products, such as clothing, accessories, or consumer goods, into photorealistic environments. For example: While the AI performs well with single-product mockups, challenges may arise when working with multiple items or making repeated edits. In such cases, slight inconsistencies or deformations might occur, requiring additional adjustments to maintain quality. Gemini 2.0 also supports text integration, allowing users to add text to objects like t-shirts, mugs, or billboards. This feature is particularly useful for creating personalized products or advertisements. However, the AI faces challenges with: For projects demanding high levels of text accuracy or intricate designs, users may need to rely on complementary tools to achieve professional results. Despite its advanced capabilities, Google Gemini 2.0 has certain limitations that users should consider: These challenges emphasize the importance of integrating Gemini 2.0 with other tools to achieve the best possible outcomes for professional applications. Google Gemini 2.0 is a versatile tool with broad applications across various industries. Its capabilities make it particularly useful for: Additionally, the tool supports creative exploration, allowing users to experiment with different ideas and refine concepts before finalizing designs. This flexibility makes it a valuable asset for professionals seeking to enhance efficiency and precision in their workflows. Google Gemini 2.0 represents a significant advancement in AI-driven image generation and editing. Its ability to produce photorealistic visuals, maintain character consistency, and customize scenes offers immense value to creatives across industries. However, its limitations in image quality and text accuracy highlight the need for complementary tools to achieve professional results. By understanding its strengths and challenges, users can effectively integrate Gemini 2.0 into their workflows, using its capabilities to enhance creativity and productivity while bringing their ideas to life.

Gemini AI Found Removing Watermarks, Including Getty Images

Disclaimer: This content generated by AI & may have errors or hallucinations. Edit before use. Read our Terms of use Users on social media have highlighted an interesting, but controversial use case of Google's new Gemini AI model: culling watermarks from images, including images published by Getty Images and other renowned stock media portals, as per a Tech Crunch report. The Gemini 2.0 Flash model appears to have precious few guardrails, and in addition to removing watermarks, it can generate images of famous personalities and copyrighted animated characters without any fuss. Case in point: an image of the world's wealthiest person, Elon Musk, and a series of images of the famous Pokemon character Pikachu. Notably, only last week, Google had expanded access to Gemini 2.0 Flash's image generation feature. This particular feature is 'experimental' and 'not for production use' as of now, and is only available for use on Google's developer-facing tools like AI Studio. And even though it appears to be immaculately skilled at removing watermarks and filling in any gaps that are left after a particular watermark is removed, it isn't perfect at executing this job. It apparently struggles with semi-transparent watermarks and those that cover a wide expanse of images. On the other hand, AI models such as Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet and OpenAI's GPT-4o expressly refuse to remove watermarks from images, with Claude even going as far as to call the act "unethical and potentially illegal." Earlier in June last year, PicsArt partnered with Getty Images to generate copyright-free AI images. The partnership allows PicsArt's new AI image generation tool to create images "with commercial rights and an indemnity,". Here, PicsArts used licensed Getty Images to train its AI models. Coming to the legal aspect of removing watermarks, the US copyright law outlaws doing away with a watermark sans the original owner's consent, except for rare instances. Elsewhere, the European Union's AI Act's Article 50 - which lists out the obligations of AI providers and deployers of AI systems - states that outputs of an AI system should be in a "machine-readable format", and must be detectable as "artificially generated or manipulated". Meanwhile, closer home, China has announced 'identification measures' stipulating that AI-generated content should have human and machine-readable notifications. Even AI-generated files available for download must have labels so that users are aware about what they are going to access. An important point to note here is that Chinese regulators likely drew inspiration from the EU's AI Act, usually considered to be the most comprehensive legal framework aimed at regulating AI thus far. "Chinese policymakers and scholars have said that they've drawn on the EU's Acts as inspiration for things in the past," said Jeffrey Ding, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University. But as AI keeps on becoming sophisticated, it is the need of the hour for countries around the globe to amend existing laws or even bring in newer legislation that safeguards and ensures the rights and security of copyright holders.

Google Gemini AI under fire for allegedly removing image watermarks, may invite legal action from creators

Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model has been criticized for its ability to remove watermarks from images. Despite Google's ongoing efforts to improve AI-generated content, this capability raises concerns about copyright infringement and digital content security. Many users on social media platforms such as X and Reddit claimed that Gemini 2.0 Flash can successfully remove watermarks from images published by stock media websites. According to TechCrunch, Gemini 2.0 Flash's free experimental image generation feature outperformed other AI tools in terms of watermark removal accuracy. According to the report, the model's text-to-image generation feature has fewer restrictions and can generate content depicting celebrities and copyrighted materials. Google has not acknowledged the issues at this time, but if true, the lack of strict safeguards and the ability to erase watermarks without consent could result in yet another legal challenge from copyright holders. It's worth noting that the Gemini 2.0 Flash image generation capabilities were recently expanded for experimental purposes and are now available through Google AI Studio. However, the company stated that the feature is not meant for production use. Also read: Scam alert! Retired officer falls victim to Facebook scam, loses Rs 5 crore In 2024, Google DeepMind introduced SynthID Text, a tool for watermarking AI-generated text. Furthermore, Google Photos will use SynthID to label AI-manipulated images in order to improve content authenticity. Google is also a member of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), an industry association that includes Amazon, Microsoft, OpenAI, Adobe, and others. The C2PA has also created technical standards to track the origin of AI-generated images by embedding metadata with information such as the creation date and AI tools used. Even after these initiatives, the industry continues to face significant challenges in terms of widespread adoption and seamless integration of these standards.