{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T05:06:31Z","timestamp":1788930391511,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":188,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788480000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia","award":["09I05-03-V02-00055"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["09I05-03-V02-00055"]}]},{"name":"Slovak Scientific Grant Agency VEGA","award":["2\/0081\/26"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2\/0081\/26"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005357","name":"Slovak Research and Development Agency","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["APVV-23-0430"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APVV-23-0430"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005357","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["APVV-23-0430"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APVV-23-0430"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/037nx0e70","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Imaging"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This survey presents a structured review of deep learning-based techniques for image data hiding, proposing a three-paradigm taxonomy organized by the method\u2019s operational relationship to the carrier image. We classify existing methods into modification-based, synthesis-based, and logic-based approaches. In the modification-based tier, we trace the architectural progression from foundational Convolutional Neural Networks and Generative Adversarial Networks to high-capacity Invertible Neural Networks and Transformers, analyzing their distinct trade-offs between embedding capacity, imperceptibility, and robustness. In the synthesis-based tier, we examine how Diffusion Probabilistic Models and generative adversarial frameworks reframe data hiding as a carrier generation problem rather than a pixel editing task. This paradigm encompasses both generative steganography (where carriers are synthesized from scratch) and proactive watermarking (where provenance is embedded during AI content generation). In the logic-based tier, we review zero-watermarking and coverless steganography, where ownership is established through feature extraction and semantic mapping without modifying any image, a critical property for sensitive domains such as medical imaging. Finally, we identify four persistent infrastructure gaps: benchmarking fragmentation, narrow robustness evaluation, domain generalization failures, and computational infeasibility that prevent real-world deployment despite architectural progress, and we propose concrete research directions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jimaging12090417","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T17:25:56Z","timestamp":1788542756000},"page":"417","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["From Pixel Modification to Generative Synthesis: A Survey of Deep Learning for Image Data Hiding"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-8269-6527","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mat\u00fa\u0161","family":"Janok","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Informatics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 845 07 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8934-9713","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Radoslav","family":"Forg\u00e1\u010d","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Informatics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 845 07 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5450-3808","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ladislav","family":"Hluch\u00fd","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Informatics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 845 07 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"30165","DOI":"10.1007\/s11042-020-08801-0","article-title":"Watermarking techniques for medical data authentication: A survey","volume":"80","author":"Anand","year":"2021","journal-title":"Multimed. 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