TechAINewsApple’s new iPhone camera mode promises to prove your photo isn’t AIA new sensor in the iPhone 18 Pro will authenticate photos captured in Reference mode.A new sensor in the iPhone 18 Pro will authenticate photos captured in Reference mode.by Emma RothSep 9, 2026, 7:30 PM UTCShareGiftPhoto by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The VergePart OfAll the news from Apple’s ‘Surprise and shine’ eventsee all updates Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.Apple is launching a new way to prove that the picture you took isn’t manipulated by AI. A new feature, called “Reference Image,” will arrive with the iPhone 18 Pro lineup later this month and is supposed to use the device’s new camera sensor to “sign every pixel it sees.”The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will only authenticate photos when placed into Reference mode.
Once the camera captures signed sensor data, Apple says its Private Cloud Compute will develop it “into an unalterable reference image” that can be viewed in the Photos app. You’ll be able to compare the reference image with other versions of the photo to see if any edits were made.You can compare the Reference Image to other versions of the photo. Image: AppleAs AI-generated images and videos become more realistic, several new standards have emerged to label images not created by a human, such as SynthID, C2PA, and Meta’s Content Seal. Apple is putting a twist on these methods by building authentication directly into its hardware.Apple is letting developers access a Reference Image API across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, which could eventually allow users to inspect these digitally-signed photos in third-party apps.
The company says the iPhone 18 Pro lineup won’t come with its Reference Image feature at launch in the European Union, but says users in the region will still be able to “develop and view” them in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Emma RothAIAppleApple Event 2026iPhoneMobileNewsTechiPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: our first hands-on impressionsAllison Johnson and Jay Peters4 minutes agoHands-on with the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4Victoria Song and Stevie Bonifield37 minutes agoHere’s how the new iPhone 18 Pro stacks up to the last-gen modelsCameron Faulkner37 minutes agoMost PopularThe iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldableiPhone 18 live blog: On the ground at Apple’s biggest eventApple announces the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro MaxLG TVs caught spying even when offline or on standbyHands-on with the foldable iPhone DuoAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
