‹ BackHN Continuity

Thread

Apple Reference Image: A New Approach for Verified Photography

539 points · 352 comments · imwally

  1. tristanj · · focus · HN ↗
    Apple doesn't address the modified photo replay situation, where you take a picture of an already edited image.

    Photoshop / AI-gen an image -> display on a high-resolution monitor -> photograph the monitor with iPhone 18 Pro -> valid Apple Reference image.

    To get valid reference photos, you can go to the actual physical location, put the iPhone/monitor in a cardboard box to block external light, then photograph the monitor. Paint the inside of the box using Vantablack (stopping reflections) and cover the LiDAR projector with tape.

    I can't wait to see Apple Verified™ photos of UFOs flying over the Golden Gate Bridge.

    1. eutropia · · focus · HN ↗
      I think the timestamp attestation of the digital negative puts a real hamper on this, because it puts a bounded time window on the photo as part of the cryptographic chain of evidence.

      So if you're the proud owner of "literally the only photo of a ridiculously unusual event in a highly public area" which is bounded to either a plausible 15-30 minute window or a sketchy March2026->Now window, people can do something like "hey, gee, did anyone else see that UFO over the golden gate bridge at 3pm?"

      plus, you know, the confidence score from their secret neural network, which has an unknown scoring function.

Open on Hacker News to reply ↗

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.