Adobe is launching some new generative AI features for Photoshop that make it easier than ever to convincingly add or remove people and objects in photographs. An update rolling out today introduces AI image upscaling, improved object removal, and an automatic composition tool that can seamlessly blend new elements into images in just a few clicks.

The “Harmonize” compositing feature builds on the Project Perfect Blend experiment that Adobe showcased last year. When you add a new object to a photograph, Harmonize will automatically adjust the color, lighting, shadows, and visual tone of the added element to naturally blend it into the main image — something that typically requires a decent amount of skill and experience with photo editing software. It’s launching in beta for Photoshop users on both web and desktop, and is available in early access on the Photoshop iOS mobile app.

A generative AI-powered image upscaling tool is also launching in beta for Photoshop on web and desktop. Adobe says it provides “high-quality resolution enhancements up to eight megapixels without sacrificing image clarity,” to improve details on low-quality images, helping users to restore old photographs or adapt image assets for various platforms.

The automatic object removal tool for desktop and web Photoshop users is also being updated to “clean up your images with more precision,” according to Adobe. The improvements should result in fewer unwanted background elements, and more realistic content being generated to fill in any unwanted gaps. Notably, it should also now listen to you when you ask it to remove an object without adding something to replace it, which it had a habit of doing before.

These features have me both excited and fearful. While Photoshop already has generative AI features that can add new objects to images based on prompt descriptions, the results can be unpredictable, and there are safeguards in place to prevent it from generating anything concerning, like deepfakes of notable public figures, violence, or sexually explicit materials. 

By comparison, the only limitation to Harmonize is that the user will have to find the images they want to blend together. Photoshop will apply digital Content Credentials to edited images that contain information about how they were manipulated, which is good for accountability, but not prevention. I can imagine far more wholesome ways to use these tools than I can nefarious ones, but it’s now even easier to do the latter than it was before.

“Customers who use the Harmonize feature must adhere to Adobe’s terms of use, which prohibits generating unlawful or harmful content,” Photoshop product manager, Joel Baer, told The Verge. “Adobe takes content safety seriously across all products, and has implemented safeguards such as Content Credentials, to protect users and combat harmful and misleading content. Content Credentials give the option for good actors to attach edit history to their work and create a digital chain of trust and authenticity.”

Last year, I said that likening concerns about generative AI photo editing apps to Photoshop was a poor comparison. Guess I have to eat my words now.

Platforms like Reddit, Bluesky, Discord, and Pornhub have been rolling out mandatory age verification requirements in the UK over the past few weeks to comply with new online safety rules. While the age-gating aims to keep children from accessing pornographic material and other “harmful content” outlined by the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom, there’s a glaring issue: it relies on kids not knowing how to use a VPN.

As reports have noted across Reddit, Bluesky, and the comments on The Verge’s quick post this morning, many online platforms ask users to verify their age based on their IP address. If the user’s IP address shows they’re located outside the UK — a masking capability offered by even most free-to-use VPN services — they’re free to keep using the web without having their identity checked. 

Ofcom didn’t specify exactly how it wanted online platforms to verify user ages, only that the methods must be “strong” and “highly effective.” Several of the age checkers I’ve seen offer similar options: users can either choose to confirm their age by uploading bank card information, an image of their government-issued ID, or a selfie used to estimate their age.

It’s unclear if those selfie options could be spoofed by simply getting an older-looking friend to complete to process. In my testing of the Bluesky and Reddit face scanners, both were at least unwilling to verify images on my phone that I was holding up to my webcam.

A VPN allows users to bypass age checks entirely, however, and teens are savvy enough to figure that out. I should know, given I was using them at 14 to bypass firewalls on my school computers. And VPNs aren’t the only workaround — some ad blockers like uBlock Origin allow users to create custom filters that can bypass age restrictions. Third-party Bluesky apps like Klearsky haven’t introduced age checkers yet, and there are more technical solutions that involve installing userscripts and using self-hosted data servers.

If the spike in Brits searching for the term “VPN” on Google is any indication, word of the loophole is spreading fast.

Figma Make, the prompt-to-app coding tool that Figma introduced earlier this year, is now available for all users. Similar to AI coding tools like Google’s Gemini Code Assist and Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, Figma Make allows users to build working prototypes and apps using natural language descriptions, instead of needing to have innate coding skills.

While Figma initially launched it in beta for “Full Seat” users —  the subscription tier required to unlock all of Figma’s design products — Figma Make can now be accessed by all Figma users, with limitations in place depending on the user’s subscription plan. The ability to publish designs created by Figma Make, which is currently still in beta, will be restricted to users with Full Seat access. Users on View, Collab, Dev, and free Starter Seat plans will be limited to experimenting with Figma Make in their personal drafts. That means that all users can at least try a demo of Figma Make, but actually doing anything with those creations will require moving to the full access subscription tier.

One advantage that Figma Make notably has over similar app builder coding tools is the ability to include design references. Users can upload an image or Figma design into the tool alongside the description of what they want it to create — an animated music player, for example — to guide how the final results should look. Individual elements like text formatting and font style can then also be adjusted using additional AI prompts or edited manually.

Figma Make is leaving beta alongside other Figma features like the Make and Edit image tool that uses generative AI to create or manipulate images based on text descriptions, and the resolution boosting feature that can be used to improve low-quality images. 

Figma is also introducing a new AI credit system that gives users a set number of credits that can be exchanged for using the platform’s AI tools, with allocations based on paid membership tiers. Figma says that View, Collab, and Dev Seat users can use AI features with lower credit limits, “that are subject to change,” while Full Seat users will have unlimited access…for now.

“AI credits are intended to easily cover day-to-day needs for Full seats, but for power users who may need more, team admins will be able to buy additional credits later this year,” Figma said in its announcement. “Until then, we won’t be strictly enforcing credit limits for Full seats.”