Google’s new Gemini 2.0 Flash model has surprised developers with an unexpected capability: it effortlessly removes watermarks from images, raising significant copyright concerns. On 17 March 2025, multiple social media users discovered that Google’s experimental AI model not only removes watermarks—including those from Getty Images and other well-known stock photo providers—but is also able to fill in the missing sections.
The Gemini 2.0 Flash excels at this task and, unlike other AI tools—such as OpenAI’s GPT-4o or Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet, which explicitly reject such requests—performs the operation without restrictions. "Using Google’s generative AI tools to infringe copyrights violates our terms of service. As with all experimental releases, we are closely monitoring and listening to developer feedback," a Google spokesperson stated. While the model isn’t flawless—struggling with certain semi-transparent watermarks and markings covering large portions of images—it can cleanly remove Getty Images watermarks and replace them with an "AI-edited" label, a development particularly alarming for photographers and artists who rely on watermarks to protect their work. Under U.S. copyright law, removing a watermark without the owner’s consent is illegal, with rare exceptions.
The issue isn’t limited to Google’s tools—other AI-based watermark removal services, such as Watermark Remover.io, already exist and can strip Shutterstock markings. Interestingly, a Google research team developed a watermark removal algorithm as early as 2017, but did so to highlight the need for more robust protection mechanisms. The ability of AI models to remove watermarks could soon become widespread, even if Google introduces restrictions to safeguard copyrights. Other third-party AI tools are likely to replicate these capabilities and, over time, become just as effective as Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model.
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Kyle Wiggers
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Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model can precisely remove watermarks from images, raising concerns about copyright protections.
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