Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is working on adding a new section called “How was this made” to the details view.
- This section will tell a user if certain photos or videos were edited with AI or not.
- The feature uses Content Credentials to maintain a history of edits, both with and without AI tools.
- An error message will appear if the media history has been modified or is missing.
As AI continues to blur the lines between what’s real and what’s fake, it’s becoming increasingly important to find ways to accurately identify synthetic content. Google has taken some steps to address this issue, including noting when a photo has been edited by AI alongside details like the file name and location. Now it looks like the Mountain View-based firm is taking this a step further with a new feature for the Photos app.
Digging through the Google Photos app (version 7.41), we discovered a feature with the codename “threepio.” This feature would introduce a new section to the photo details view called “How was this made.” We pulled a long list of code strings that mention the feature and what it does, including the strings below.
Code
<string name="photos_threepio_education_impl_dialog_title">See how a photo was made</string> <string name="photos_threepio_infopanel_action_type_ai_title">Edited with AI tools</string> <string name="photos_threepio_infopanel_action_type_multiple_ai_title">Edited with multiple AI tools</string> <string name="photos_threepio_infopanel_action_type_multiple_non_ai_title">Edited with multiple non-AI tools</string> <string name="photos_threepio_infopanel_action_type_multiple_unknown_ai_title">May have been edited with multiple AI tools</string> <string name="photos_threepio_infopanel_action_type_non_ai_title">Edited with non-AI tools</string> <string name="photos_threepio_infopanel_action_type_unknown_ai_title">May have been edited with AI tools</string> <string name="photos_threepio_infopanel_origin_type_ai_title">Media made with AI</string> <string name="photos_threepio_infopanel_origin_type_camera_combined_title">Media captured with a camera, multiple images were combined</string> <string name="photos_threepio_infopanel_origin_type_camera_title">Media captured with a camera without software adjustments</string> <string name="photos_threepio_infopanel_origin_type_parts_ai_title">Parts of this media was made with AI</string>According to the strings we found, you’ll be able to see the new “How was this made” section in the photo details view when you swipe up on a photo or video. If the information is available, you’ll be able to check this section to see if edits were made by AI tools (e.g., Magic Eraser) or by non-AI tools. The system can also identify various scenarios, such as if multiple AI tools were used, if media was created with AI or a camera, or if an image was created by a combination of multiple images.
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When an image or video is identified as having AI edits, you’ll see labels such as “media created with AI,” “Edited with AI tools,” and “Edited with multiple AI tools.” Media that has been edited with non-AI tools will see labels like “Edited with multiple non-AI tools” or “Media made with non-AI tools.” If no editing tools were used, you may see labels such as “Media captured with a camera” or “Media captured with a camera without software adjustments.”
It appears that this feature relies on Content Credentials to maintain a history of edits, both with and without AI tools. If that history has been modified or is missing, users will see an error message instead. But if the information is there, those details will stay with that piece of media, even if it’s shared.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
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