# SynthID Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/synthid/ 14 people recommended SynthID in Hacker News comments, 11 had mixed feelings and 59 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 12 months, in 10 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended: critics say it can be removed and only catches tools that use it; those who recommend it see it as a standard invisible mark for AI content that survives basic edits. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Easily removed with diffusion or noise (5 comments in the sample): "Synth id can be removed, run it through an image 2 image model with a reasonably high denoising value or add artificial noise and use…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46675925)) "It’s a detector that will detect 100% of the stuff that doesn’t mind being detected…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47713334)) "If it's this easy to remove SynthID from an AI-generated image then it wasn't a good solution in the first place." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47710669)) - Google data collection and advertising concerns (4 comments in the sample): "the EULA incorporates Google’s regular consumer terms; which means what you upload can also be used for advertising and targeting" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49993934)) "So whoever creates AI content needs to voluntarily adopt this so that Google can sell "technology" for identifying said content?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45993556)) "Given that it's an ad company, they want something to connect what you're doing to the rest of their data" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49994517)) - Does not stop determined bad actors (2 comments in the sample): "there is no way for me to verify if groups or nation states can pay for a special contract where they do not have to…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47170761)) "This solution helps when people lazily share things with friends or on social media I suppose, rather than stopping motivated bad actors." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47176837)) - Closed source, security through obscurity (1 comment in the sample): "This blog post clearly shows that Deepwalker can break SynthID, which is a closed-source watermarking system." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48209030)) ## Why people recommend it - Survives screenshots and basic edits (3 comments in the sample): "SynthID survives basic transforms including screenshots/photos, although it can of course be defeated." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47858455)) "it can survive the kind of basic editing a regular person knows how to do on their phone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46297989)) "SynthID is fairly resistant to this sort of thing, although not perfect." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48200193)) - Useful even if imperfect (3 comments in the sample): "Any signal which helps distinguishing the two is helpful, even if it isn't perfect." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48301972)) "Just because something isn't perfect doesn't mean it's not useful." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48200174)) "It helps significantly in the current moment." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48199520)) - Standard for marking AI content (2 comments in the sample): "SynthID is a better standard for designating something was created with GenAI" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49954909)) "pretty cool standardizing technology" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49995484)) - Does not degrade text quality (1 comment in the sample): "I see a net positive especially since it doesn't degrade text quality" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49794870)) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "SynthID", https://hackerapproved.com/p/synthid/ (14 recommend, 11 mixed, 59 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.