Is this allowed?

Yes — with disclosure. Digitally editing listing photos is a normal, regulated part of real-estate marketing in 2026. Here is the honest map of the rules, and how Unstager is built to keep you inside them. (This is practical guidance, not legal advice — your MLS rules and state law govern.)

The green zone: removing what’s temporary

Digitally removing furniture, rugs, décor, and personal items shows buyers the space itself — the inverse of virtual staging. With a disclosure label, this is permitted in essentially every MLS: the property isn’t being changed, only its temporary contents.

The disclosure zone: cosmetic refreshes

Neutralizing paint colors, replacing worn carpet, and tidying landscaping are “virtual renovation.” They’re widely allowed, but they change how the property presents — so they call for clear per-image disclosure, and the original photo should stay available. California’s AB 723 (2026) requires both: altered images identified, originals included in the same advertisement. Roughly 38 states now have some disclosure requirement.

The red line: concealing condition

Hiding defects — staging over water damage, patching photos of real problems without disclosure — is misrepresentation everywhere. Unstager is built to keep you away from that line: by default we never repair anything (damage stays visible), and if you opt into minor repairs we always deliver the unrepaired version alongside, so nothing is concealed.

How Unstager automates compliance

• Every download includes the untouched originals in an originals/ folder.
• Every download includes disclosure.txt — ready-to-paste listing-remarks language describing exactly what was edited.
• A “DIGITALLY EDITED BY UNSTAGER.COM” label is applied to each photo by default (you can turn it off if your MLS handles disclosure in remarks).
• Repairs are opt-in and always ship with the as-is version.
• We keep your originals — if a question ever comes up, the before/after record exists.

What we won’t do

We don’t invent features (no added outlets, fixtures, windows, or rooms), we don’t change architecture, and we don’t remove watermarks. A bare wall is always correct; an invented anything never is.

Questions about a specific MLS rule? Ask your board’s compliance desk — and send them this page.