Apple tests iOS feature to certify iPhone photos as authentic

Apple’s upcoming iOS 27 beta includes references to a new “Apple Reference Image” framework that would embed provenance information directly into iPhone photos at the moment they are taken. Users would enable the feature via Settings → Camera → Reference Image → Reference Mode, and only images captured with a new “Reference” option would carry the data. To confirm authenticity, a user must tap a Reference badge, prompting the device to send the raw file and embedded sensor signatures, timestamps, and hardware IDs to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute for validation, after which a uniquely assigned ID is returned.

Apple states it never accesses the raw photo itself, though it may use sensor data to block images from compromised hardware or revoke prior authentications. The system resembles the C2PA Content Credentials standard already adopted by Canon, Nikon, Sony, FujiFilm, Leica, and Google’s Pixel phones, but Apple has previously avoided it, perhaps seeking a more robust proprietary solution. The feature could also support broader efforts to label human-created content on social platforms.