Apple’s AI features have been rolling out since the first public betas of iOS 18 were released. Now, the iOS 18.1 beta 3 update has introduced a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature called Clean Up. The feature can remove objects and people from a photo. However, once the feature is used, the image will reportedly begin to show a label indicating that it has been edited using AI. With this, Apple has joined the ranks of OpenAI, Meta, Google and other companies that provide a similar label whenever their AI models are used to edit an image.
Apple adds label for images edited with Clean Up
9to5Mac spotted the feature in the iOS 18.1 beta 3 update. Available in the Photos app when editing a photo, it appears in an eraser-style icon in the toolbar at the bottom. The Cupertino-based tech giant showed off the feature at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
Using AI, the tool can detect and automatically remove unwanted objects and people from a photo. The tool can also detect shadows and reflections of unwanted objects and automatically remove them. Users can also manually control the function and remove objects and people.
In a separate report9to5Mac also discovered that images edited with Clean Up began to show a label that reads “Adjusted with Clean Up” when viewed within the Photos app. This was likely done so that a user wouldn’t change the context of the image by removing a person or object.
The AI label was also reportedly added to the photo’s EXIF (Exchangeable Image File) format, which can be viewed using a computer or special software that can read this data. This data would be present when the photo is shared using iMessage or AirDrop. However, the publication found that sharing the image via third-party messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram did not include the label in the photo.
However, since the Apple Intelligence feature is only available in the beta version, it is possible that this omission will be fixed by the time Clean Up is available in the stable version.
