Engadget
Apple is giving your photos a tamper-proof seal.
Anybody can create realistic images, or alter photos, just by using their phone.
Apple's trying to address this problem with Reference Image mode on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. When you're ready, Apple's Private Cloud Compute service checks that this record hasn't been tampered with and turns it into a photo with a digital signature that can then be checked to verify its authenticity.
Adding a digital signature, backed by Apple's own cloud service, is supposed to give you confidence that the finished photo is legitimate.
Apple points out that someone could, theoretically, replace or change a camera's image before it's marked as authentic. Reference Image mode is designed to protect against this by adding its first digital signature inside the camera sensor itself.
Reference mode is opt-in for the iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max's main camera, so it won't be enabled by default. To switch it on, you'll need to tap Settings > Camera > Reference Image, then tap Add Reference Mode, before following the on-screen instructions.
For instance, if somebody claims a photo was taken today, but Apple Reference Image's timestamps place it six months ago, you can sound the alarm bells.
If you want to use Reference Image, you'll need an iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max and to be in a country or region that supports it. The hardware components involved, including sensor-specific cryptography keys, mean that you won't find this feature on older iPhones, though any device running iOS 27, iPadOS 27 or macOS 27 can view reference images.