Apple's Reference Image reportedly aims to prove photos came from a real camera sensor

A user sharing Apple's security blog describes Reference Image as a way to fight AI fakes by cryptographically verifying that light hit a real sensor. According to the account, the camera sensor signs raw pixels, then Private Cloud Compute uses a neural network to check physical sensor noise, processes the image and signs the final JPEG with ML-DSA-87 post-quantum cryptography. The user claims the design makes a photo's origin verifiable without leaking public identity information.