AiMetaOff / GUIDES

Read Content Credentials on Firefly images

See what Firefly records on eligible exports and how to check embedded Content Credentials and recoverable cloud records.

Adobe Firefly Content Credentials can tell you which software created an image, who issued the credential, and what action Adobe recorded. Start with the original download. A screenshot, a Photoshop export, and a copy saved from a social post can each carry different provenance, even when they look similar.

Start with Firefly Text to Image

Adobe automatically attaches Content Credentials to assets whose pixels are entirely generated by Adobe Firefly, including eligible Text to Image results. In Firefly on the web, use Download on the generated variation or retrieve it from Files → Generation history. Adobe lists JPG and PNG as supported image download formats. The same generation interface also offers partner models, so check which model you selected before applying Adobe's description of fully Firefly-generated assets. Firefly credential overview · Download from Generation history · Model selection · Supported formats

What the Adobe claim contains

Issuer and actions

Adobe documents a non-personal record for automatic Firefly credentials. It includes the issuer (Adobe Inc.), the issuance date, the app or device, the Adobe generative AI tool and a broad action such as Created or Other edits. Adobe also documents a thumbnail for assets created with Text to Image on the Firefly website. Creator identity is absent from the default automatic record. Supported workflows in tools such as Photoshop or Adobe Content Authenticity can include additional information if the creator opts in. Firefly credential overview

In the Content Authenticity Initiative's public Firefly tabby-cat JPEG, AiMetaOff read Adobe Firefly as the recorded software and Adobe Inc. as the issuer. The published manifest records a creation action, a text-to-image operation and an AI-generated digital source type. These are fields from that example. The issuer identifies the organization behind the credential, while a creator name would be a separate field. Public Firefly example and manifest

Local inspection of this JPEG verified the claim signature, assertion hashes and file binding. Signer trust remained unverified. Cloud recovery, fresh Firefly account exports and partner-model exports were not independently tested.

Scope of the claim

EXIF and XMP can hold ordinary fields such as camera details, location, captions or software names. A C2PA Content Credential contains a signed claim and assertions packaged in a manifest. A validator checks the signature and assertion hashes, and checks whether the file's covered data matches the active manifest. Signer trust requires its own certificate check. A successful validation establishes the integrity of the signed record and its binding to the covered file data. The factual accuracy and completeness of the recorded history depend on what the signer recorded. C2PA specification

Firefly web download versus an edited export

A direct Firefly Text to Image download can carry Adobe's generation record. An edited export can carry a new credential describing the editing workflow. In Photoshop desktop, Adobe's File → Export → Export As instructions for JPG and PNG list options to attach the optional credential to the file, publish it to Adobe's public Content Credentials cloud, or omit it. Adobe separately documents automatic C2PA labeling for qualifying generative creation or edits. The optional export setting does not switch off that automatic labeling. Photoshop export options · Adobe generative AI labeling FAQ

After a crop or resave, the outcome depends on the exporter. An editor can drop the embedded credential. If it copies the old manifest while changing data covered by the original binding, the binding can fail even if the claim signature itself still verifies. A C2PA-aware editor can sign a new record for the derivative and reference its source as an ingredient. If you crop a Firefly download for a banner, inspect both versions and look at the action and any ingredient records on the banner before describing its history. C2PA specification

Embedded and recoverable credentials

An embedded credential travels inside the file. Adobe says Firefly credentials may also be stored in its public Content Credentials cloud. If a matching cloud record is available, Adobe's tools can sometimes recover provenance after embedded metadata is lost, including from a screenshot. A recovered match is associated with an earlier asset. The current file can still lack an embedded credential or differ from the original signed bytes. Adobe's guide to recovering credentials · How Content Credentials work

How to check a Firefly image

Keep the original JPG or PNG. To see what the file itself contains, choose it in AiMetaOff's Inspect File workspace. The browser reads supported metadata and checks embedded C2PA locally.
Look for Recorded software and expand C2PA checks to see the issuer and actions when available. Read the claim signature, file binding and signer trust as separate results. AiMetaOff does not retrieve cloud records or establish signer trust.
To view Adobe's interpretation of the credential, open Inspect in Adobe Content Authenticity and select Browse files to submit your image. If you need to look for a cloud record, Adobe documents a Search for possible matches option. Check the matched asset and its history before relying on it. Adobe Inspect · Adobe Inspect instructions

Read a Firefly credential locally

Remove supported embedded metadata and verify the copy

Keep the original if you need its Adobe provenance. In AiMetaOff, review Cleanup scope, select the categories you intend to remove, and clear the others. For example, select only XMP if you are removing a supported XMP caption. For a supported embedded credential, select C2PA. The two choices affect different structures. Select Clean selected and download the resulting copy. Check embedded credential cleanup scope

Open the downloaded file in Inspect File and compare the relevant category with the original. The public Firefly JPEG showed an embedded C2PA store before cleanup. After C2PA-only cleanup, the downloaded copy showed C2PA: Not found, and a byte comparison confirmed that only the two JPEG segments carrying the store were removed. A result of Not found refers to the inspected structures. If the tool reports unsupported inspection or partial cleanup, treat the result as inconclusive. Removing a store leaves that copy without the embedded signed claim. It does not produce a replacement signature or establish who made the image. Verify metadata removal

Can metadata removal remove an AI label?

A platform controls its own labels. It may use file signals or a disclosure supplied with the post. A visible watermark is part of the displayed image, and an invisible watermark can be encoded in the content itself. Local metadata cleanup does not test for those marks, change a platform's label, or delete Adobe cloud records. Keep any applicable disclosure when sharing a cleaned copy. Adobe generative AI labeling FAQ · Meta's AI labeling approach · C2PA specification

FAQ

Does the automatic Firefly credential identify the person who typed the prompt?

The default record identifies Adobe as issuer and describes the tool and action. Adobe's list of automatic Firefly credential fields does not include the person's name or the prompt. Sharing an image through a workflow that exposes remix settings or prompts is a separate action. Firefly credential overview · Firefly image sharing

Why does Adobe show a match when AiMetaOff finds no embedded credential?

Adobe may have found an associated cloud record. AiMetaOff's result applies to supported structures inside the file you selected. Check which copy the Adobe result describes, particularly if you supplied a crop or screenshot. Adobe's guide to recovering credentials

Does a missing credential mean the image was made by a person?

A missing credential leaves the file's origin unresolved. The image could come from a workflow that omitted the credential or from a later export that dropped it. If you need to verify the recorded provenance, ask for the original download and inspect it. C2PA specification

Sources

Accessed November 14, 2026.