iPhone 18 Pro can prove your photos aren’t fake – with limitations, expert says

Apple’s new image provenance feature, Reference Image, can verify a photo’s origin. Still, it lacks elements that raise concerns for open-source builders. Content provenance still isn’t a widespread priority in tech. In something of a surprise to longtime viewers like ZDNET senior contributing editor Kerry Wan, Apple’s annual hardware event on Wednesday opened with the reveal of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. New CEO John Ternus immediately focused on Apple Intelligence, emphasizing how central it is to the new devices — especially when it comes to your photos. Reference Image, a new feature for the forthcoming iPhone 18 models, lets users prove they took a photo and that it isn’t AI-generated or altered. The feature is “powered by the new sensor in the Main camera that can sign every pixel it sees,” Apple said in the release, essentially creating a digital copy of a photo using that sensor data. Users can see reference images and main images side by side in the Photos app to identify any edits or changes…