Meta labels AI images from C2PA and IPTC metadata: what stripping does

Meta says it reads C2PA (version 1.3) and IPTC invisible metadata to label images made with tools from Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Adobe, Midjourney and Shutterstock, and it labels its own output "Imagined with AI". If a file has had that metadata removed, Meta's metadata route has nothing to read, so the poster's own disclosure is what remains. This applies to the February 2024 announcement; check Meta's current pages for newer scope.

What the announcement says

Sume is not on the named list. The announcement describes industry signals, not a Sume integration, so do not assume a Sume image will be labelled automatically.

What Sume's docs say about metadata

The Image API docs describe hosted URLs, output_format (png, jpeg, webp, svg) and per-model parameters. They do not describe C2PA or IPTC signing, so this post makes no claim that Sume output carries either. If you need credentials, treat that as something to confirm for your account, and plan the disclosure yourself in the meantime.

Metadata is also easy to lose. A screenshot, a re-encode or a platform's own processing can drop it. Treat embedded signals as a bonus, not as your label.

Check the file you actually publish

Test the file as it leaves your pipeline, not as it left the generator. Download the image, run it through a C2PA or IPTC reader, and record the result next to the job ID. For video, video inspect returns probe facts, stills and optional speech-to-text; the docs list no credential read, so use a separate tool for that.

asset,job_id,after_resize,c2pa_found,iptc_found,manual_label_needed
banner-4x5.jpg,<job id>,yes,no,no,yes

A practical rule

The ground is moving. Meta's later statements on ad labels and the EU code are covered in related posts.

• Label manually whenever you cannot show that metadata survived to the posted file.
• Keep the original generator output, untouched, in storage.
• Never strip metadata on purpose to dodge a label; that undermines disclosure.
• Re-read Meta's page for video and audio, which the 2024 post said started as manual.

Where metadata gets lost

Common places to lose embedded metadata are a screenshot, a social platform's own re-compression, an image editor's save-for-web option and a conversion to another format. None of these is malicious, and all of them change what a reader finds.

If you export through several tools, test each export setting once. Some tools keep metadata by default, some remove it by default and some offer a checkbox. Write the working settings into your team's export guide.

For Sume outputs, the safe procedure is to keep the file exactly as downloaded, record the job ID, and add your own disclosure at upload.