Tools like Watermark Remover.io can already scrub marks from companies like Shutterstock, and a research team at Google built a watermark removal algorithm in 2017 to highlight the need for more secure protections. Conversely, some AI tools — like OpenAI’s GPT-4o — will refuse requests to remove them.

Users on social media recently discovered a controversial feature in Google’s Gemini AI model: the ability to remove watermarks from images, including those from major stock image providers like Getty Images.

Google’s newest AI model, Gemini 2.0 Flash, is exceptionally good at removing watermarks from copyrighted images including Getty Images, according to multiple users. However, AI watermark removal does raise copyright concerns.