C2PA stands for Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity. It is an open technical standard for embedding tamper-evident credentials in photos, videos, and audio files. The credentials reveal who signed the file, what software created it, whether AI was involved in its creation, and an edit history. Major adopters in 2026 include Adobe (Photoshop, Lightroom, Firefly), OpenAI (DALL-E 3), Microsoft (Designer, Bing Image Creator), Google (Gemini), BBC, and major camera makers including Canon, Sony, Nikon, and Leica.

Is C2PA the same as Content Credentials?

Yes. Content Credentials is the consumer-friendly name used by the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), which Adobe leads. C2PA is the underlying technical standard. The icon you may have seen (a small CR badge) on AI-generated images is the Content Credentials icon, indicating a C2PA manifest is attached.

Does this tool verify the cryptographic signature?

No. This tool detects, reads, and displays the manifest content. Full cryptographic verification requires checking the signing certificate against the C2PA trust list (a ~2 MB WASM library and trust list). For that, use the official verifier at contentcredentials.org/verify. We deliberately skipped the heavy verification step to keep the tool instant-loading and entirely browser-side with zero third-party dependencies.

What file types does this tool support?

JPEG (APP11 marker with JUMBF container), PNG (caBX chunk), and WebP (C2PA chunk). HEIC and AVIF support is limited because those container formats are more complex and this in-browser parser cannot read them reliably yet. For HEIC/AVIF, use contentcredentials.org/verify.

Why do most of my photos show 'No Content Credentials'?

Because C2PA is still rolling out across the industry. As of 2026, the photos that DO carry credentials are mostly from Adobe Photoshop saves (2024+), Adobe Lightroom exports, AI-generated images from DALL-E 3 or Firefly or Designer or Gemini, BBC News images, and recent professional cameras with C2PA mode enabled. Casual photos from older devices, social media downloads, screenshots, or compressed images typically do not have credentials.

Will the file be modified or uploaded?

No on both counts. The tool reads the file in your browser using the Canvas/File API, parses the manifest from the raw bytes, and displays the result. The file is not modified, copied, or sent anywhere. You can verify this in browser DevTools (F12 > Network tab) while inspecting a file. There will be no outgoing requests with file data.

Can I detect AI-generated images with this tool?

Only if the image carries a C2PA manifest with an AI generation assertion. Tools like DALL-E 3, Firefly, Bing Image Creator, and Microsoft Designer DO sign their output with C2PA and include the AI flag. Tools that DO NOT sign their output (Midjourney as of 2026, Stable Diffusion locally, older AI tools) leave no C2PA evidence. For unsigned AI images, you need a separate AI image detector that uses model-based inference, not metadata inspection.

What does 'claim generator' mean?

The claim generator is the software or device that created and signed the C2PA manifest. For example, 'Adobe Photoshop 25.0' means a 2024+ version of Photoshop signed this image. 'DALL-E 3' means OpenAI's image generator. 'Canon EOS R5' means the camera firmware signed the image at capture time. The claim generator is one of the most useful single facts in a manifest because it tells you the immediate source of the image as the manifest creator stated it.

Why is the C2PA viewer not in mainstream browsers yet?

Chrome has a Chrome extension for C2PA inspection. Microsoft Edge began adding native Content Credentials display in 2025. Safari and Firefox do not yet display C2PA natively. Most users still need a dedicated viewer (this tool, contentcredentials.org, c2paviewer.com) or a browser extension. By late 2026 and into 2027, expect native browser support to expand.

If the claim says 'AI generated', can I trust it?

You can trust it more than you would trust nothing, but it is not absolute proof. A C2PA manifest is only as trustworthy as its signing certificate. If signed by a known certificate authority on the C2PA trust list (Adobe, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, etc.), the AI claim is very reliable. A malicious actor could in theory sign an AI image with a fake claim that says 'not AI', but doing so requires forging or obtaining a trusted certificate, which is technically and legally hard. For maximum confidence, verify the signature at contentcredentials.org.

Can I remove C2PA Content Credentials from my photo?

Yes, by saving the photo through any tool that does not preserve C2PA metadata. Most image editing, compression, conversion, or screenshot tools strip C2PA as a side effect. Our compress, resize, convert, and crop tools all strip C2PA in their current implementation. If you specifically want to strip metadata, use the EXIF Remover tool which also removes C2PA via its lossless JPEG strip path.

Is C2PA the same as EXIF or IPTC?

No, they are different. EXIF and IPTC are older metadata standards from the 1990s, focused on technical capture data and editorial captions. They are not cryptographically signed and can be modified by anyone. C2PA is a new (2022) standard focused on provenance and authenticity, with cryptographic signatures and a chain of trust. The three can coexist in the same file. EXIF tells you camera settings. IPTC tells you who labeled the image. C2PA tells you who actually signed it and proves the chain of custody.

C2PA Content Credentials Viewer

Check if a photo carries Content Credentials, see who signed it, and whether AI was involved. Runs entirely in your browser. No upload, no WASM library, instant load.

Drop photos to inspect Content Credentials

Drag & drop, paste from clipboard, or click to browse. Supports JPG, JPEG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, BMP, SVG, TIFF · Up to 20 files

Files never leave your browser · ⌘V to paste a screenshot

What is C2PA?

C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) is an open standard that embeds tamper-evident credentials in photos and videos. Major platforms including Adobe Photoshop, OpenAI DALL-E, Microsoft Designer, Google Gemini, and recent Canon, Sony, and Leica cameras all sign their output with C2PA. The credentials reveal who made the file, what software was used, whether AI was involved, and an edit history.

Note: This tool reads and inspects C2PA manifests. It does not cryptographically verify the signature chain (that requires a 2 MB WASM library and the trust list). For full signature verification, use contentcredentials.org/verify from the Content Authenticity Initiative.

What Are Content Credentials and Why They Matter in 2026

Content Credentials (technical name: C2PA) are tamper-evident digital signatures embedded inside photos, videos, and audio files. They reveal who signed the file, what software created it, whether AI was involved, and a complete edit history. Think of it as a digital certificate of authenticity baked directly into the file, surviving copy and re-upload but breaking if the file is modified.

The standard was finalized in 2022 by a coalition including Adobe, Microsoft, Intel, BBC, Truepic, Nikon, and Sony. By 2026, adoption has accelerated sharply: Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom sign every save by default, OpenAI DALL-E 3 signs every generated image, Microsoft Designer and Bing Image Creator follow suit, Google Gemini outputs C2PA on every AI image, and several recent camera bodies from Canon, Sony, Nikon, and Leica sign at capture time. BBC News attaches C2PA to verified news photos. Truepic provides C2PA capture for insurance, journalism, and supply-chain verification.

Which Tools and Devices Sign with C2PA in 2026

Source	Signs with C2PA?	Notes
Adobe Photoshop 2024+	Yes	On every save, includes edit history
Adobe Firefly	Yes	AI flag set, generation parameters in manifest
OpenAI DALL-E 3	Yes	AI flag set, ChatGPT downloads include manifest
Microsoft Designer / Bing Image Creator	Yes	AI flag set
Google Gemini (image generation)	Yes	Rolling out across Gemini outputs since 2024
Canon EOS R5 II, R1 (with C2PA mode)	Yes	Hardware signing at capture, requires firmware update
Sony Alpha (firmware 4.0+ on select bodies)	Yes	For news photographer accreditation programs
Leica M11-P	Yes	First C2PA-native consumer camera, every capture signed
BBC News verified photos	Yes	Newsroom Provenance Project
Truepic capture apps	Yes	Insurance, supply chain, evidence collection
Midjourney	No	As of mid-2026, no C2PA support
Stable Diffusion (local)	No	Plugin available but rarely used by default
iPhone Camera	No	No C2PA in iOS Camera as of mid-2026
Android phone cameras	No	Pixel camera has limited Google Gemini editing C2PA

When You Would Use a C2PA Viewer

Journalists and editors verifying that a submitted photo carries a valid signing chain from a known camera or newsroom. C2PA does not prove a photo is true, but it does prove the chain of custody from capture to your inbox.

Stock photo buyers confirming an asset claims to be human-created vs AI-generated. A C2PA manifest with an AI flag is a strong signal that the photo was generated by AI. Absence of the flag does not prove it was not AI, but presence of a Photoshop signing chain with edit history strongly suggests human creation.

Designers and developers inspecting what software touched a file. The claim generator string tells you which app last saved or signed the image. This can be useful for debugging color profile issues, format compatibility, or compliance with brand asset workflows.

Researchers and educators studying how AI provenance is rolling out across the internet. By scanning samples of images from different sources, you can see the live picture of who is and is not adopting C2PA.

Anyone curious about whether an image they received was AI generated. A surprising number of AI images now carry the credentials voluntarily because the generating service (DALL-E, Firefly, Designer, Gemini) signs by default.

Privacy and Limitations

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your photo never leaves your device. There is no upload to any server, no third-party WASM library loaded at runtime, and no analytics on the file content. The only network requests this page makes are for the page itself (HTML, CSS, JavaScript). You can verify this in browser DevTools, Network tab.

Limitations: this tool detects and inspects C2PA manifests but does not cryptographically verify the signature chain against the C2PA trust list. For that you need the full Content Authenticity Initiative SDK (about 2 MB of WASM) and the trust list. For full verification of a specific image, the official verifier at contentcredentials.org/verify is the best option. Our tool is designed for quick inspection and discovery of credential presence and content, not legal-grade authenticity verification.

HEIC and AVIF files have limited support because their container formats are more complex than JPEG/PNG/WebP and our in-browser parser cannot reliably extract embedded JUMBF data from them yet. For HEIC and AVIF, use contentcredentials.org/verify.

Frequently Asked Questions

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