Nightshade, a free tool that lets artists “poison” AI models being trained on their artwork without permission, is now available to download for Mac and PC
VentureBeatCarl Franzen
Context & Ripple Effects
Nightshade extends a line of artist-defense software: earlier research introduced imperceptible alterations intended to protect artistic work, and subsequent coverage examined Nightshade alongside Glaze as tools designed to disrupt models trained on artists’ images.
The Mac and PC release turns that approach from a research-led technique into a broadly downloadable tool. It matters because artists’ objections to generative-image systems had already surfaced in the backlash to DeviantArt’s DreamUp image generator.
First-order effects
Artists on Mac and PC can now apply Nightshade’s protections to artwork before publishing it, giving them a no-cost technical response when they fear unconsented training.
AI developers that ingest public artwork may face training data deliberately altered to degrade or confuse downstream models; the tool’s immediate target is the data-collection pipeline, not a platform’s published output.
Second-order effects
Model builders and dataset curators have a stronger incentive to identify, filter, document, or obtain permission for image sources, increasing the value of provenance and licensed data practices.
The release strengthens an adversarial cycle around creative data: Nightshade and Glaze build on earlier imperceptible-artwork protections, while model developers will seek more resilient training and screening methods.
Third-order effects
If creator-side protections gain sustained use, technical safeguards may become a practical complement to contracts and platform rules in disputes over AI training consent.
The broader market could split between traceable, permissioned creative datasets and less-verifiable public-web data, making data governance a differentiator for image-model providers.
The trend: Generative-AI training is becoming an enforcement surface where creators use technical controls to contest how publicly available work is reused.
@sini4ka111 Short answer: yes. But you can also run on longer rendering. And since it's poison, you don't *need* to use it if it looks too strong for your art style.
Ahahah the cope is insane. Dude is legit arguing against glazing your images because it's ‘illegal’ in his eyes. He compared it to having his PC hacked because it ‘disrupts his operation’ I am delighted [image]
Folks. This version does not include glaze. We will work on an integrated version of glaze+ns. For now if you want benefits of both, you should shade first, glaze last. But note that artifacts might be more visible. The integrated version will fix this issue.
@arvalis Same perturbations budget. So mathematically it's identical or less visible than glaze. We actually allow lower intensity effects than glaze. Less poison is ok but less protection is not. But you can look in the paper for examples. https://arxiv.org/...
Highly recommend you read the User's Guide to understand how to use the poison tag. NS is very similar to Glaze in general tools used. So the usual robustness applies. Cropping, resampling, compression etc etc have minimal impact on NS poison. Have fun!
Quick notes 1. probably not best idea to announce an image as poison, kinda defeats the purpose 2. a shaded image is not glazed. If you want protection from mimicry, do not post your art with only nightshade. 3. NS is memory sensitive. If u have big apps running, close them first
@TheGlazeProject Hi! I've tested Nightshade at my painting and I'm a bit confused. Is this supposed to look like this, with this much artefacts? [image]
Today is the day. Nightshade v1.0 is ready. Performance tuning is done, UI fixes are done. You can download Nightshade v1.0 from https://nightshade.cs.uchicago.edu/ Please read the what-is page and also the User's Guide on how to run Nightshade. It is a bit more involved than Gla…
Nightshade is out! Nightshade poisons AI models if your art or images are taken without permission, Glaze protects you from AI mimicry. It's recommended you Nightshade first, then Glaze. A version that does both is coming. Read this thread for more info. Go get 'em 🫡 [image]
Keep in mind that #Nightshade and its sibling #Glaze are technological measures as defined by the DMCA that control access to a work (to ensure proper licensing), and circumventing them would be a violation of 17 U.S. Code §1201. https://www.law.cornell.edu/ ... [image]
#Nightshade is not illegal...it will not damage anyones PC...this is an attempt to discourage creatives from using it so they can continue to steal your labour! We adapted to their exploitation...Keep protecting your work, photos & your art! https://nightshade.cs.uchicago.edu/ ..…
A heads up to artists uploading their portfolio on the internet. Here are two tools to safeguard your work that is being scraped by trainers for generative AIs without your permission. * Nightshade - poison sample your data. * Glaze - protect from style mimicry. [1/3] [image]
Nightshade and Glaze never claimed to be the answer to every AI problem. It's a way for artists to protect their work, establish consequences for violating consent, and feel comfortable posting their work online again.
#nightshade Pro tip: use Nightshade on everything you upload online (not only your art), social media pictures, daily photos about your meal, family, puppies, kittens, random selfies and street shots - and let the game begin.
The demand for nightshade has been off the charts. Global Requests have actually saturated our campus network link. (No dos attack, just legit downloads). We are adding two fast mirror links for nightshade binaries. Win: https://d2cusatv9jv1nt.cloudfront.net/ ... Mac: https://d2c…
Artists...suggestion, once you Nightshade and Glaze your art all you need to do is upload it to all the sites that you used before, Artstation etc. those are all still being scraped, it will get sucked up. Also..be a good way to pay Adobe back for their treachery w/firefly.