Content Credentials have become one of the main reasons photos get labeled as "Made with AI" on Instagram and other platforms in 2025. This guide explains what Content Credentials are, why they trigger AI labels, and how to remove them from your images.

What Are Content Credentials?

Content Credentials are a digital provenance system developed by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). Major companies including Adobe, Microsoft, Google, and camera manufacturers have adopted this standard to track how images are created and edited.

How Content Credentials Work

When you create or edit an image using software that supports Content Credentials, the application embeds cryptographically signed metadata that records:

  • Creation information: Whether the image was AI-generated, captured by a camera, or created from scratch
  • Editing history: Every tool and filter applied to the image
  • Software used: Which applications processed the image
  • Timestamps: When each action occurred
  • AI assistance markers: Any use of generative AI features, even minor ones

Why Content Credentials Trigger AI Labels

Social media platforms like Instagram read Content Credentials to determine if an image should display an AI label. The problem is that these credentials are extremely sensitive - using Adobe Photoshop's Generative Fill even once will embed Content Credentials indicating "AI-assisted" creation.

This means a real photograph that you simply cropped using Generative Fill will be labeled as "Made with AI" on Instagram, even though 99% of the image is authentic photography.

Who Adds Content Credentials to Images?

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe is the largest implementer of Content Credentials through their "Content Authenticity Initiative":

  • Photoshop: Adds credentials when using Generative Fill, Generative Expand, or Neural Filters
  • Lightroom: Can embed credentials for all edits when enabled
  • Firefly: Always adds "Made with Adobe Firefly" credentials
  • Express: Adds credentials for AI-generated content

AI Image Generators

  • DALL-E 3: Embeds OpenAI attribution in metadata
  • MidJourney: Adds generation parameters and Discord data
  • Stable Diffusion: Various UIs add different metadata signatures

Camera Manufacturers

Some newer cameras from Leica, Sony, and Nikon can embed Content Credentials at capture time to prove photo authenticity.

How to Remove Content Credentials

Our AI Metadata Cleaner is specifically designed to remove Content Credentials along with all other AI detection metadata:

  1. Visit the homepage
  2. Upload your image(s)
  3. Click "Process Images"
  4. Download the cleaned version

The tool removes C2PA manifests, XMP data, IPTC fields, and all other metadata that could trigger AI detection while preserving image quality.

Method 2: Manual Removal with ExifTool

For technical users, you can use ExifTool to strip metadata:

exiftool -all= -overwrite_original image.jpg

However, this removes ALL metadata including color profiles, which can affect how your image displays. Our tool preserves essential color information while removing problematic metadata.

Method 3: Re-export Without Credentials

In Adobe Photoshop:

  1. Go to File > Export > Export As
  2. Uncheck "Include Content Credentials"
  3. Save the new file

Note: This only works if you haven't already shared the image. Credentials may still exist in versions you've previously uploaded.

Preventing Content Credentials from Being Added

Adobe Settings

To disable Content Credentials in Adobe apps:

Photoshop: Edit > Preferences > Content Credentials > Uncheck "Enable Content Credentials"

Lightroom: Lightroom > Preferences > General > Uncheck "Enable Content Credentials"

Note: Even with these settings disabled, using certain AI features may still embed metadata.

Workflow Recommendations

  1. Edit in stages: Do your AI-assisted edits first, clean the metadata, then do final non-AI adjustments
  2. Use alternative tools: For minor edits, use traditional tools instead of AI-powered features
  3. Clean before sharing: Always run images through a metadata cleaner before uploading to social media

Content Credentials vs. Other AI Detection Methods

Content Credentials are just one way platforms detect AI content. Other methods include:

  • Visual pattern recognition: AI algorithms that identify AI-generated imagery
  • Digital fingerprinting: Hash-based detection of known AI outputs
  • EXIF analysis: Looking for missing or suspicious camera data

Our comprehensive removal guide covers all these detection methods and how to address them.

Conclusion

Content Credentials represent the industry's push toward content transparency, but they can unfairly label legitimate photos as AI-generated. Whether you're a photographer using minor AI touch-ups or an artist working with AI tools, understanding and managing Content Credentials is essential for controlling how your images are labeled online.

Use our AI Metadata Cleaner to remove Content Credentials and other AI detection metadata before sharing your images. For more detailed information about metadata types, see our EXIF, IPTC, and XMP guide.