Google announced in August 2026 that users can now remove visible watermarks from AI-generated images, videos, and music created with its tools. The change applies to content produced through Gemini and Google’s AI video generator, Flow.
A new “Media watermark” toggle in Gemini’s settings menu allows users to disable the “sparkle” watermark that previously appeared in the bottom-right corner of content generated using Google’s Nano Banana and Omni models. The setting is also planned to roll out to Google Search, though it will not be available in countries that legally require visible watermarks.
Despite the option to remove visible markers, AI-generated content will still carry invisible SynthID watermarks and C2PA metadata, according to Josh Woodward, vice president of Google Labs, Gemini, and AI Studio. Users can verify whether content is AI-generated by asking Gemini or Google Search directly.
Google’s move brings it in line with other major AI platforms. OpenAI and Meta do not apply visible watermarks to AI-generated content, relying instead on SynthID and C2PA, and Meta’s own Content Seal standard, respectively. Anthropic also announced this week that it is applying invisible watermarks to both AI-generated text and images.
Google noted that many users had already been manually editing out visible watermarks, which may have factored into making the feature optional. While the change could make it harder to quickly identify AI-generated content at a glance, the continued presence of invisible metadata means verification tools remain available for those who seek them.
Source: The Verge