Photo Consent Checklist (Before AI Edit or Share)

For the method in Get Consent Before You AI-Edit or Share Someone’s Photo. For anyone identifiable in a photo besides yourself.

Not for

Data-privacy questions about uploading a photo (what a provider stores or trains on) - see Sharing images with AI for that separate, still-required check. Consent to an edit does not by itself approve a new service’s data handling.

Step 1: The four-question check

• Would they be surprised to see this edited version?
• Does the edit change how they appear (expression, body, setting), not just crop/color?
• Where is this going - private message, small group, or public/work?
• Would they get a say in the result, or only see it after?

If any answer suggests they might object: ask before uploading.

Step 2: Edits that need a conversation first

• Changing an expression
• Changing a setting/context
• Stylizing/“AI-ifying” a likeness
• Combining or removing people from a group photo
• Going to a public account or work materials

Step 3: If you cannot reach the person

• Kept the use private
• Avoided identifying captions
• Skipped edits that change appearance, not just quality
• Chose the least-likely-to-embarrass version
• Did not treat being unreachable as permission to upload the photo to a new service

Step 4: If a child is in the photo

• Appropriate parent/guardian involvement obtained where required
• Child’s age-appropriate assent sought rather than treating the child as having no voice
• Bar for asking set higher, not lower

If someone objects after the fact

• Further sharing stopped and copies I control deleted
• Platform takedown/deletion requested for copies I posted
• Any limits from recipients, screenshots, backups, or platform retention explained honestly
• No repeat edit of the same person without direct consent first

Before you post

• Consent check complete for everyone identifiable in the photo
• If the edit is a realistic transformation, also check the synthetic media provenance checklist