Where the project stands.
An honest accounting of what's shipped, what's pending, what's known to be broken, and what's planned. Updated as releases happen. If you're considering adoption, this page tells you which pieces are stable production-ready and which are early-stage.
VIDP is shipping. Spec stable, tool patching against real-world deployment, MLS rule alignment effort underway.
The specification is at v1.2.2 and stable. The reference Web Tool is at v1.5.1 — five releases in three weeks, each tightening the implementation against problems found in real-world MLS and aggregator pipelines. Production deployments are happening. A working effort to align MLS rules with state disclosure laws launched on May 6 with a public position paper and legal memo. The certification program is announced but not yet operational. Analytics infrastructure is partially built but not yet deployed.
Read the timeline below for context, then the section-by-section status.
Timeline
Three weeks of releases, in order:
VIDP launch — spec v1.2 + Web Tool v1.0
Public launch of vidp.org with the full specification and a working reference implementation. CC BY 4.0 throughout.
Web Tool v1.1 + v1.2
Image-size preservation (output JPEG capped at input file size). Anonymous aggregate scan tracking endpoint added (the receiving Worker is still pending deployment).
Web Tool v1.3
Workflow improvements: editable slug, persistent settings, "Start new listing" button, storage URL validation. Driven by feedback from early production use.
Web Tool v1.4 — MLS variant
First response to the QR recompression problem. Production testing through Paragon → Zillow showed v1.3 QRs were being destroyed by aggregator recompression. v1.4 introduced a hardened MLS-specific variant with larger pills, larger QRs, error correction Q, full opacity, and white quiet-zone padding. The standard variant remained producer-controlled.
MLS adoption effort launches
Public release of the MLS rule alignment position paper and legal memo. Documents the conflict between current MLS overlay prohibitions and required disclosure markings under AB 723 and analogous state laws, and proposes a path forward.
Homepage hero example
Live before/after comparison slider added to the homepage hero, showing an actual VIDP delivery (3913 NE Shenandoah Dr, Lawton OK) with Sky Enhancement disclosed. Same interaction pattern as the verification gallery so visitors experience the disclosure mechanism directly.
Web Tool v1.5.0 — workflow refinement
Surfaced the saved-defaults architecture as a clear "Saved defaults" panel. Added final-package-name field, folder-save export, three distinct reset actions, and an interactive QR survivability test producers can run on demand.
Web Tool v1.5.1 — QR survival hardening (current)
Field reports indicated v1.5.0 standard-variant QRs were also failing on Zillow direct (not just MLS-routed). Empirical testing confirmed: 0/10 scan rate on the worst-case syndication chain. v1.5.1 hardens the standard variant defaults, adds an optional URL-shortener layer, and runs an automatic survival simulation at export time that writes a verdict to audit.json. New scan rate: 10/10 on the same test.
Current releases
What's available right now at /downloads/:
VIDP Web Tool v1.5.1
The reference implementation. Used in production by KWP and other early adopters. Generates VIDP-compliant verification packages including standard and MLS-hardened variants, with automatic pre-export QR survival validation.
VIDP Specification v1.2
The canonical specification. All sixteen pills, placement guidance, compliance mapping. Implementations should target this version. The HTML rendering at /specification/ is authoritative.
VIDP Pill Package v1.2
All 16 pill SVGs at 75% default opacity plus 92% alternates, reference sheet, usage guide. Suitable for direct use in producer workflows or for re-implementation.
MLS adoption position paper & legal memo
The case for MLS rule alignment, paired with a detailed legal analysis of the AB 723 / MLS overlay-prohibition conflict. Background reading for MLS staff, brokerage counsel, and association policy committees. See /mls-adoption/ for context.
In progress
Work currently underway, expected in upcoming releases:
MLS rule alignment outreach
Active engagement with MLS associations, state real estate commissions, and brokerage counsel using the published position paper and legal memo as the basis for conversations. The goal is rule changes that explicitly permit (or require) VIDP-compliant disclosure markings, resolving the current conflict between MLS overlay prohibitions and state-law disclosure requirements. See /mls-adoption/ for current state.
Spec v1.2.3 — recompression survivability addendum
Formalize the empirical findings from v1.4 and v1.5.1 into the spec itself. Proposed §5.5 covering MLS recompression survivability requirements: pill ≥5%, QR ≥10%, ECC level Q+, opacity 100%, white quiet zone ≥8% for MLS-bound images. Also: optional short-link URL layer guidance for non-MLS surfaces.
Forensic pipeline analyzer
A standalone Python tool that analyzes folders of public listing images (Zillow, Redfin, MLS IDX feeds) and infers the JPEG quality, dimension cap, and chroma subsampling each platform uses. Replaces guesswork in the survival simulator with measured pipeline parameters. Used to validate spec changes against real-world delivery surfaces, and to detect when platforms change their pipelines.
Planned
On the roadmap, not yet scheduled:
VIDP-Verified™ certification program
The program is announced and described at /certification/. Operational launch — application portal, technical conformance test, registry of certified platforms — will follow once the spec reaches v1.3 and at least two non-reference implementations exist for cross-validation.
Public adopter & scan counter
A small counter on the homepage showing the number of producers using VIDP and the aggregate disclosure scans. Awaiting two prerequisites: the analytics Worker getting deployed (see Deferred) and the adopter count getting non-embarrassing — probably 5–10 producers as the threshold for going public. Architecture will use hashed producer IDs so no PII leaves any producer's browser.
Walkthrough page expansion for v1.5.1 features
The Web Tool walkthrough still describes the v1.0/v1.3 era step-by-step. v1.4 (MLS variant), v1.5.0 (saved defaults panel, package naming, survivability test), and v1.5.1 (short-link prefix, automatic survival check) added significant new behavior that the walkthrough should document. The tool's inline UI explains each feature in context, so this is a documentation-quality issue rather than a usability one.
Deferred
Built or designed but not yet deployed. Tracked here for honesty about the current state:
Cloudflare Worker for /api/scan and /api/register
v1.2+ generated galleries fire fire-and-forget POSTs to vidp.org/api/scan on page load to feed an aggregate counter. The receiving Cloudflare Worker has been built but not deployed — the endpoint currently returns 404. Galleries handle this silently (no functional impact on disclosure), but tracking data is being lost. A planned /api/register companion endpoint will track distinct adopters (producer hashes) for the public counter. Both will deploy together.
Privacy disclosure update on vidp.org
Language describing the anonymous aggregate scan and adopter tracking exists in the v1.2 deploy guide but hasn't been added to the site. Will publish alongside the public counter UI.
Known issues
Problems we know about and what we're doing about them:
Pre-v1.5.1 QRs may not survive aggressive recompression
QRs generated before v1.5.1 used settings (smaller QR size, lower error correction, opacity reduction applied to the symbol) that fail intermittently after MLS and Zillow recompression. v1.4 partially addressed this with the MLS variant; v1.5.1 fully addresses it for both standard and MLS variants.
Mitigation: producers re-export affected listings with v1.5.1, replacing the delivered images on MLS and other surfaces. Galleries themselves remain valid — only the QR images on delivered files need refreshing. The verification URL is unchanged.
Mobile-thumbnail and gallery-thumbnail QRs are unscannable
QR codes on Zillow gallery thumbnails (~768px) and mobile thumbnails (~480px) are too small to scan reliably with any practical configuration. This is a physical limit of QR module density at small render sizes, not a tool bug.
Mitigation: buyers tap to expand to the hero/full-screen view before scanning. v1.5.1 settings ensure scannability at hero size and on the original delivered file. The walkthrough and gallery README will be updated to set buyer expectations.
MLS rule conflict with required disclosure markings
Most MLS rule sets currently prohibit overlays on listing photos. AB 723 (California, effective 2026) and analogous state laws require disclosure markings on AI-altered listing photos. The two requirements are in direct conflict, and producers operating in affected jurisdictions currently have no compliant path under existing MLS rules.
Mitigation: the MLS rule alignment effort is the long-term resolution. Short-term, producers should consult brokerage counsel about their specific jurisdiction and consider VIDP-compliant disclosure as a good-faith compliance signal even where MLS rules haven't yet been updated.
Adoption
VIDP is in early-adopter territory. Production deployments are happening, but the ecosystem of certified platforms and adopting MLSs is still being built. If you're considering adoption:
- The specification is stable. Implementing against v1.2.2 is safe — backward compatibility will be preserved through v1.x.
- The Web Tool is stable for solo and small-volume producers. v1.5.1 is the first version we recommend for production use without caveats.
- The certification program is not yet operational. Self-attestation against the spec is the current path. Formal certification will come when the registry launches.
- No MLS has formally adopted VIDP yet. Producers ship VIDP-disclosed images to MLS through normal channels; the disclosure travels with the image even if the MLS doesn't recognize the standard. The rule alignment effort is the path to changing that.
- Buyer-side recognition is the slowest variable. The QR scan and gallery view work on any phone with any camera app. Whether buyers know to look for VIDP labels yet is a separate problem the certification program and producer marketing will gradually address.
Want to adopt? Start at /adopt/.