Forthcoming iOS feature could cut down on fake photos

Apple aims to make it possible to prove that a photo was taken on your iPhone and, presumably, not subsequently altered.

The latest developer beta of iOS 27 has an unusual number of new features for this late in the process, but code references say there’s more to come. Apple has a forthcoming feature called Apple Reference Image, and it’s aimed at authenticating photos.

Under the right circumstances, it would be possible to demonstrate that a specific image was really taken by the iPhone’s camera. The idea being that it therefore is not an AI-generated image.

There’s no guarantee that this will come in iOS 27, but it’s sufficiently advanced that the code references make it clear how it will be used. The answer is that it probably won’t be used much at all, though, because it requires a specific set of circumstances.

In order to use Apple Reference Image to prove that a photo was taken in-iPhone camera, the user has to:

• Turn on the setting
• Take the photo using a new Reference mode
• Later elect to authenticate the image

To enable the setting at all, users will have to first go to Settings and Camera. After this feature is released, there will be a Reference Image setting, and in it the ability to turn on Reference Mode.

What happens then

An image taken in the as-yet unreleased Reference option in the iPhone’s camera, will have extended metadata added to it. As yet, it’s not clear how a user can have the image authenticated, but when they do, it is this metadata that is sent to Apple.

Apple gives the image an individual ID. When such an image is shared through AirDrop or Messages, whoever receives it can check if it has been authenticated.

Similarly, according to 9to5mac, which first spotted the code references, there is to be a “Transfer with Provenance” option. This will see authenticated images retain their ID when copied over USB to a new device.

Since the feature requires a specific photo mode in the Camera app, Apple Reference Image will presumably not be available to third-party camera apps. By the time it is released, however, there may be developer APIs for using it.

This feature will be of more use to journalists than to people taking holiday snaps. But then as good as it sounds, there are still going to be images that appear fake even when they are not.

Separately, the same fifth developer beta includes code references to six new models of iPhone.