Google is updating its AI tools to allow users to remove visible watermarks from images, videos, and music. Through a new "Media watermark" toggle in Gemini and the company’s AI video generator, Flow, users can now choose to present their generated content without overt branding.
Removing the 'Sparkle'
When the setting is toggled off, Google will remove the "sparkle" watermark that typically appears in the bottom-right corner of media generated by its Nano Banana and Omni models. This shift acknowledges a reality where many users were already manually editing out these markers. By making them optional, Google follows the lead of competitors like OpenAI and Meta, which rely on different methods for AI identification.
Invisible Tracking Remains
While the visual cue is gone, transparency measures remain embedded in the files. According to Josh Woodward, vice president of Google Labs, Gemini, and AI Studio, AI-generated content will still include invisible SynthID watermarks and C2PA metadata. This ensures that users can still verify whether a piece of content is AI-generated by using Google Search or Gemini.
Google plans to roll out this setting to Search as well. However, the company noted that the toggle will remain unavailable in jurisdictions that legally mandate visible watermarks for AI-generated media.
