Technologies

Look Out AI-Generated Photos, Future Android Phones Could Reveal if You’re Authentic

Qualcomm is introducing photo authenticity software in new chips that will power upcoming Android phones.

As concern grows that images on the internet have been wildly manipulated by AI, chipmaker Qualcomm is doubling down on authenticity. The company wants to prove that the images taken on your phone look the same as when you clicked the shutter button.

At Snapdragon Summit 2025, Qualcomm debuted its new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a powerful chip that will be featured in next year’s top Android phones. Among its improvements is a digital content authentication standard called C2PA, which digitally watermarks photos and video footage to show how much AI, if any, was used in the final product.

In a world of deepfakes, digital content companies may increasingly adopt the open C2PA technical standard to prove veracity.

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«As generative AI grows, and as the need in social media grows to have photographs be understood and be authentic, I think [phonemaker support for C2PA] will grow,» said Judd Heape, vice president of product management at Qualcomm.

Qualcomm has teamed up with Truepic, a San Diego-based company that develops digital image verification software, to integrate its C2PA solution into Snapdragon mobile chips. The chipmaker is now streamlining the process, allowing phonemakers to sign up for Qualcomm’s software package to secure this functionality in their devices.

The caveat is that companies still have to choose to integrate the authenticity software into their devices. Once they do, users will have their photos digitally watermarked to the C2PA standard by default.

Whether this streamlining will be enough for the authentication to show up on more phones remains to be seen. At least one device manufacturer is moving toward integrating C2PA, Heape said, but declined to identify which.

«I can’t say who, but yes, there are [manufacturers] who are working with us and also working on their own to integrate C2PA,» Heape said.

Read more: Future Android Phones Will Have a Surprising Way to Prove Your Video Isn’t AI

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Sept. 26

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Sept. 26.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? The Across clues were pretty easy, which is nice because a couple of the Down clues (3-Down especially) would’ve stumped me. Need answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: What this clue is in
Answer: BOLD

5A clue: Rowing sport
Answer: CREW

6A clue: Businesses where the tongue-twisted might order a 1-Across/5-Across?
Answer: CAFES

8A clue: ___ Bunny, «Space Jam» character
Answer: LOLA

9A clue: End of a cigarette
Answer: BUTT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Include secretly, as on an email
Answer: BCC

2D clue: Toothbrush brand
Answer: ORALB

3D clue: Gaston’s sidekick in «Beauty and the Beast» (French for «the fool»)
Answer: LEFOU

4D clue: Resided (in)
Answer: DWELT

7D clue: Took a chair
Answer: SAT

Technologies

The iPhone 17 Has Arrived. Here Are 8 Essential Accessories to Pick Up

Technologies

Trump Signs Order to Transfer TikTok to US Ownership

«This is going to be American-operated all the way,» Trump says.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday spelling out a deal that could transfer the majority ownership of Chinese-founded app TikTok to Americans.

«This is going to be American-operated all the way,» Trump said, according to NBC News.

A representative for the White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The president said that he had agreed with Chinese president Xi Jinping that TikTok would be separated from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, in order to continue operating in the US. US companies will own about 80% of the US version of the app. Six Americans will sit on TikTok’s seven-member board of directors, The Guardian reported.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.