EraseAILabelHome / Firefly and Meta AI metadata
What Metadata Do Adobe Firefly and Meta AI Images Carry?
Adobe Firefly and Meta AI both record that an image was generated, but they do it differently, and the rules around removing those records differ too.
Published by Harsh Raj · Last reviewed November 2026
Adobe Firefly
Adobe's Firefly help says Content Credentials are applied automatically to assets where all of the pixels are generated with Firefly, such as Text to Image. The record can include the issuer, the date, the app or device, the AI tool, and general editing actions.
Adobe says text prompts aren't included in those automatic credentials, so a Firefly file shouldn't reveal what you typed. It also describes keeping credentials in its cloud, which allows them to be recovered if they're stripped from an exported file.
Adobe's terms matter here. Adobe's Generative AI User Guidelines say: "You must not remove, alter, or disable any Content Credentials." If you made an image with Firefly, don't use a metadata tool to remove its credentials. Keep them, and disclose AI use where it's needed.
Meta AI
Meta said in 2024 that photorealistic images made with its AI feature carry visible markers, along with invisible watermarks and IPTC metadata embedded in the file. It said this helps other platforms identify them. So a Meta AI image can carry information in three places:
- A visible marker, which you can see in the picture.
- An invisible watermark, which is stored in the pixels.
- Metadata, which is stored in the file.
A metadata tool can only affect the last of these. Details may have changed since Meta's announcement, so check your own file.
How the two compare
| Adobe Firefly | Meta AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Main file record | Content Credentials (C2PA) | IPTC metadata |
| Invisible watermark | Not stated in the pages we read | Yes, according to Meta |
| Visible marker | Not stated in the pages we read | Yes, on photorealistic images |
| Signed record | Yes | IPTC fields are not signed |
How to check a file
- Download the original, and avoid taking a screenshot, which creates a new file.
- Scan it in the AI metadata checker. Look for Content Credentials or an AI source tag.
- For Content Credentials, use Content Credentials Verify to read the full record.
If the scan finds nothing, the record might have been lost when the file was re-saved. It doesn't mean the image wasn't made with AI.
Using these images responsibly
These records exist to help people understand what they're looking at. A short note such as "Image made with Adobe Firefly" is usually all that's needed. If you're preparing images for clients, ask whether they need the records kept. Many organizations want them. Stock sites and contests also have their own rules on AI work, so read those before submitting.
What about other tools?
Each generator handles this in its own way. See our guides for ChatGPT, Gemini, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, or the overview of what AI tools add to images.
A tech enthusiast who builds and tests EraseAILabel's tools. How we test
Common questions
Can I remove Content Credentials from a Firefly image?
Adobe says users must not remove, alter, or disable Content Credentials. Please keep them on images you make with Firefly.
Do Firefly images contain my prompt?
Adobe says text prompts are not included in automatically generated Content Credentials.
Does Meta AI add a watermark?
Meta said in 2024 that photorealistic images from its AI feature carry visible markers, invisible watermarks, and metadata.
Check an AI image file
See which records it holds, on your own device.