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Add a Watermark to Images

Stamp text or a logo on a whole batch — drag it into position, rotate and recolor it, tune size and opacity, or tile it across the image.

How to add a watermark to a photo

Drop your images onto the panel above, type your watermark text, drag the mark where you want it on the live preview, and press the watermark button.

A watermark is a mark laid over an image to identify its owner or mark its status — a name, a handle, a logo, or a word like DRAFT. Its usefulness comes from being inseparable from the picture: anyone who reuses the image carries your mark along with it, which is a deterrent rather than a lock.

Text is the default and the fastest route, with a font and colour picker to match the image. Switch to Logo to load your own mark instead, where a transparent PNG gives much the cleanest result — a JPG logo brings its own opaque rectangle with it. Either way, Size, Opacity, and Rotation are sliders, and placement is either a drag on the preview or a snap to one of the nine Position anchors.

One detail makes batches behave: Size is a percentage of each image's width rather than a pixel figure, so a single setting looks consistent across a folder of mixed dimensions instead of dominating the small images and vanishing on the large ones.

What opacity and size should a watermark be?

Start at 40–60% opacity and 15–25% of the image width. Drop to 15–30% opacity if you are tiling, where the repetition does the work instead of the contrast.

SettingStart hereReasoning
Opacity40–60%Legible without fighting the image. Drop to 15–30% for tiled marks, where repetition does the work
Size15–25% of widthReadable on a phone. Below 10% it disappears in a feed thumbnail
PositionBottom-rightConventional, rarely covers the subject — but also the first place a cropper reaches for
TilingFor proofs and previewsSurvives cropping, at the cost of the image being pleasant to look at
Starting points, not rules. Every one of them trades visibility against intrusion, and the right balance depends on the image.

One judgement call runs through all of these: a watermark that never intrudes is also easy to remove, and one that is impossible to remove is unpleasant to look at. Match the aggression to the risk, because a portfolio piece and an unpaid client proof do not warrant the same treatment. Bottom-right is conventional and rarely covers the subject, but it is also the first place anyone cropping reaches for — which is exactly why proofs get tiled instead.

Text or logo watermark?

Text if you want it done in ten seconds and legible at any size. A logo if people already recognise your mark and you have it as a transparent PNG.

TextLogo
SetupType and goNeeds a prepared file, ideally transparent PNG
Legibility when smallExcellentDepends on the mark; detailed logos mush
Brand valueFunctionalRecognisable at a glance, harder to imitate
Best forHandles, copyright lines, DRAFT and PROOF marksStudios, shops, and anyone with a mark people already know
The legibility row is the one that decides most cases: a detailed logo shrunk to 15% of the width turns to mush, where a word stays a word.

If you do have a logo, use it and set the opacity a little higher than you would for text. A shape at 30% reads as a smudge, whereas a word at 30% is still readable as that word — letterforms survive transparency far better than symbols do.

Will a watermark stop people stealing images?

It stops casual reuse, which is the overwhelming majority of reuse. It does not stop a determined person, and it is not a legal mechanism.

What a watermark genuinely does is worth being precise about. It deters the screenshot-and-repost kind of copying, it credits you when an image travels without a caption — which is how most images travel — and it marks status unambiguously, so an unpaid proof or an internal draft cannot be mistaken for a final file.

What it does not do is prevent theft. A corner mark can be cropped out and a flat mark can be painted over; tiling across the frame raises the effort substantially without making it impossible. Nor does it affect your rights: copyright exists whether or not you watermark, so the mark is evidence and deterrence rather than protection. For anything genuinely sensitive, layer your measures — watermark the preview, send full resolution only to people who have paid, and strip the metadata from whatever you publish.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add a watermark for free?

Drop the photo above, type your text or load a logo, set size, opacity, and position, then press the watermark button. There is no sign-up, no fee, and nothing is added to your image except the mark you configured — no service branding.

What opacity should a watermark be?

40–60% works for most single-position marks: clearly visible without dominating the photo. For tiled watermarks go lower, around 15–30%, because dozens of repetitions read as much stronger than one. Logos generally need slightly more opacity than text to stay recognisable.

Can I watermark multiple photos at once?

Yes. Drop a whole folder and one set of settings applies to every image in the batch, then downloads as a ZIP. Size is a percentage of each image's width rather than a fixed pixel value, so the mark stays proportionate across photos of different dimensions instead of dominating the small ones.

Can I use a transparent PNG logo?

Yes, and it is the recommended input. Transparency means only your mark is composited over the photo, with no box around it. The logo is scaled to the size you set and blended at your chosen opacity.

Will a watermark stop people stealing my images?

It stops casual copying, which is most copying. A determined person can crop out a corner mark or paint over a flat one. Tiling across the frame makes removal much more work and is the reason proofs are usually tiled, but no watermark is unremovable. It is deterrence, not protection — your copyright exists either way.

Can this tool remove a watermark?

No. This tool adds watermarks; it cannot take one out. Removing a watermark means reconstructing the pixels it covered, which is a different kind of software altogether — and removing someone else's mark from their photo is usually a copyright problem rather than a technical one.

Does watermarking reduce image quality?

Only through the re-encode: the image is written at quality 90, which is visually identical for photographs, and PNG output stays lossless. The mark itself is composited at full resolution, so it stays sharp rather than looking pasted on.

Finish the job

Common follow-ups, one click from here. Your image stays on your device between tools.