Watermark verification

SynthID Detector: Check AI Watermarks

Learn how to check SynthID watermarks using Google's official tools. Our general AI image detector does not verify SynthID watermarks.

Important distinction

SynthID is a watermark technology that embeds invisible information into AI-generated content. Detecting a SynthID watermark requires specialized tools that read that embedded data. Our AI image detector analyzes visual patterns and metadata — it does not verify SynthID watermarks.

What is SynthID?

SynthID is Google DeepMind's watermarking technology for AI-generated content. It embeds imperceptible information directly into images, audio, and text during generation. The watermark survives modifications like cropping, resizing, and compression better than metadata alone.

SynthID watermarks are added at generation time by supported tools and models. An image without a SynthID watermark cannot be verified using SynthID — that doesn't mean the image is real, only that it wasn't generated with SynthID enabled.

How to check for SynthID watermarks

Google provides official tools for SynthID watermark detection:

Google's SynthID Detector

Upload an image to check for embedded SynthID watermarks. Available at synthid.com

Open Google's SynthID Detector

Verification via Gemini

Images generated with Gemini and certain Google tools include SynthID by default. You can verify them through the platform where they were created.

SynthID vs. general AI detection

SynthID watermark detection

  • Reads embedded watermark data
  • Only works on images generated with SynthID
  • Survives compression and minor edits
  • Cannot detect unmarked AI images

General AI image detection

  • Analyzes visual patterns and metadata
  • Works on any image, watermarked or not
  • Less reliable after heavy editing
  • Returns probability, not proof

Understanding detection results

SynthID watermark detected

The image was generated using a tool with SynthID enabled. This is strong evidence of AI generation from a supported platform.

No SynthID watermark found

This does NOT mean the image is authentic. It only means the image wasn't generated with SynthID, or the watermark was removed through heavy editing. Most AI-generated images do not have SynthID watermarks.

When to use each approach

  • Use SynthID detection when You suspect the image came from Google's Gemini or another SynthID-enabled platform, and you want definitive proof of AI generation from that specific source.
  • Use general AI detection when You need to analyze any image regardless of its source, or when the image might be from Midjourney, DALL·E, Stable Diffusion, or other platforms that don't embed SynthID watermarks.
  • Use both when possible Check for SynthID first. If no watermark is found, run general AI detection to analyze visual patterns. Neither approach alone can rule out all possibilities.

Our general AI image detector

If you need to analyze an image that might not have a SynthID watermark, or if you want to check visual patterns and metadata in addition to watermark detection, use our AI image detector:

Try general AI image analysis

This analysis does not verify SynthID watermarks. It examines metadata, file structure, pixel patterns, and visual features to estimate the likelihood of AI generation.

Sources and verification

Information last verified: October 2026. This is an independent guide and is not affiliated with Google or DeepMind.