800. How was TTG’s “Allowable Changes” list developed?

A worldwide consensus about what kinds of changes do not constitute “doctoring” a photo is what shaped TTG’s Allowables list.

Manufacturers of smartphones and cameras around the world agree on which actions and manipulations should — and should not — be performed automatically in their devices.

How smartphone makers shape the “Allowables” list

In order to make their products appealing to buyers, the manufacturer of any camera or device will want to “build in” to the device as many automatic features as possible —

— but they will not want to make automatic any actions that would be regarded as “doctoring” by users who just want to “take a photo to show what something looks like.”

That balance — embraced by all device manufacturers and billions of users — conveniently creates a list of seven allowable actions, all of which are on the Allowable Changes list (“A” and #4-9).

For background on #1, #2, and #3 on the list, see #1207.