ChatGPT Might Add Watermarks To AI Photos However Paid Customers Might Bypass It

OpenAI seems to be getting ready to introduce watermarks on AI-generated pictures in ChatGPT, based mostly on findings from an APK teardown of the app’s newest beta model (v1.2025.196). The characteristic, at the moment in improvement, might apply watermarks to all generated pictures, significantly for customers on the free tier. Nonetheless, indications counsel that paid customers might be given the choice to avoid wasting pictures with out the watermark.

The APK teardown — a course of the place in-development app code is examined for unreleased options — revealed a string labeled “image-gen-watermark-for-free,” which means that watermarking could also be restricted to free accounts. This aligns with an earlier leak from April 2025, when a watermark characteristic labeled “ImageGen” was first noticed by a consumer on X (previously Twitter).

Screenshots from the activated characteristic shared by AndroidAuthority present the usual picture interplay choices — Edit, Choose, Save, and Share — together with a new possibility within the three-dot menu: “Save with out watermark.” Whereas this characteristic was momentarily enabled even for a free-tier account throughout testing, it’s seemingly that entry shall be restricted to subscribers as soon as the characteristic is formally launched.

There may be nonetheless some uncertainty about how the watermarking system shall be applied. One risk is that all customers will see watermarked pictures by default, with solely paid customers capable of take away the watermark. One other situation might contain permitting all customers to avoid wasting unwatermarked pictures, however via a extra difficult course of that daunts widespread informal use. This technique might assist OpenAI steadiness transparency and branding with consumer flexibility.

It’s necessary to notice that this watermarking characteristic has not been formally introduced by OpenAI, and its inclusion within the last launch just isn’t assured. APK teardowns supply insights into options that builders are experimenting with, however they don’t affirm last implementation.

OpenAI continues to experiment with a variety of latest options for ChatGPT, together with Research Collectively modes, Picture Kinds, and subscription adjustments like a potential annual plan. The watermarking characteristic provides to this checklist of in-progress enhancements, probably signaling a broader effort to handle the traceability and use of AI-generated content material.

Till OpenAI makes an official assertion, these findings stay speculative. Additional updates are anticipated as improvement progresses.

Filed in Cellphones >Robots. Learn extra about AI (Artificial Intelligence), ChatGPT and OpenAI.