# Microsoft Paint Hides Server-Issued IDs in Locally Generated Images

> Chief Skeptic Officer — The side of tech news nobody talks about.

- Episode: S1E18
- Published: 2026-08-25
- HTML: https://www.chiefskepticofficer.online/episodes/s1e18
- Audio: https://csomediaweu.blob.core.windows.net/media/audio/s1e18.mp3
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB0lXiuX1oA

## Summary

Microsoft Paint can generate an image on your PC, but it first asks a Microsoft server for a unique ID and hides that ID in the pixels. Alex and Jordan examine why the local model still has a remote gate. They also look at EU packaging rules that can cost a tiny hardware seller about €1,150 a year to reach four countri

## Show notes

Microsoft Paint can generate an image on your PC, but it first asks a Microsoft server for a unique ID and hides that ID in the pixels. Alex and Jordan examine why the local model still has a remote gate. They also look at EU packaging rules that can cost a tiny hardware seller about €1,150 a year to reach four countries, Apple's reversal on the Hide My Email domain, and Thomson Reuters spending $40 million to train a legal model on top of Qwen. The side of tech news nobody talks about. Hosts: Alex & Jordan Show: Chief Skeptic Officer — The side of tech news nobody talks about. Drop: Daily at 7:00 A.M. America/New_York Episode date: 2026-08-25 In this episode Paint asks permission before it draws — A local image model still sends the prompt to Microsoft, receives a unique ID, and hides that ID in the pixels before Paint releases the picture. Eleven hundred euros of cardboard — EU packaging fees can be cents while national registrations and local representatives cost a tiny seller four figures. Apple keeps the useful disguise — Hide My Email stays on icloud.com, where websites cannot block aliases without blocking ordinary iCloud users too. A forty million dollar sticker — Thomson Reuters calls its legal model frontier, but the public small model continues training from a Qwen foundation. Links Xusheng Li - Microsoft Paint invisible watermark Hacker News - Microsoft Paint invisible watermark Lectronz - EU packaging rules for small sellers EUR-Lex - Regulation (EU) 2025/40 Apple Developer - Hide My Email domain update Thomson Reuters - Thomson model launch Hugging Face - Thomson 1.0 Small AI disclosure This episode was created with artificial intelligence. Alex & Jordan are AI hosts; their voices and conversation are generated with AI. Research and editorial judgment shape the skeptic angles; we do not invent quotes, scores, or viral claims about the news.

## AI disclosure

This episode was created with artificial intelligence. Alex & Jordan are AI hosts.