Add a Watermark to an Image Online
Add a text watermark to protect your images, or remove a watermark from an image you own, directly in your browser.
Click to upload or drag an image here
Processed entirely in your browser
Watermark either adds a text watermark to protect an image before sharing it, or attempts to remove one from an image you own the rights to, using a best-effort inpainting algorithm that works better on plain backgrounds.
How does adding a watermark actually protect an image?
A visible watermark overlays text or a logo across an image in a way that's difficult to crop or clone out cleanly without leaving a visible gap or distortion, discouraging casual reuse of a photo without permission. It doesn't prevent copying outright — nothing placed over an image can — but it makes unauthorized use conspicuous and harder to pass off as original, especially when placed across a meaningful part of the image rather than tucked into an easily-cropped corner.
Can watermark removal actually restore the original image underneath?
Not reliably, and it's worth understanding why: removal works through inpainting, an algorithm that estimates what should be underneath the watermark based on surrounding pixels, rather than recovering data that was genuinely lost when the watermark was applied. It works reasonably well on plain, simple backgrounds where the surrounding area gives the algorithm an obvious pattern to extend, and much less predictably on complex or highly detailed backgrounds where there's no reliable pattern to guess from.
Is this actually private, and when is it appropriate to remove a watermark?
Yes — both adding and removing a watermark happen directly in your browser, with nothing uploaded to a server. Only remove a watermark from an image you actually own the rights to or are otherwise authorized to edit — removing a watermark from content you don't own or haven't licensed properly can infringe the original creator's copyright, regardless of how technically easy this tool makes it.
How old is the actual idea of marking a document to prove where it came from?
About 750 years old, and it started with paper, not pixels. The first watermarks appeared in Fabriano, Italy, in 1282, where papermakers began pressing a thin wire design into wet paper pulp on the mould used to form each sheet, creating a faint pattern only visible when the finished paper was held up to light. The purpose was almost identical to a modern digital watermark: papermakers were paid by volume, so a watermark identified exactly which mill and maker produced a given sheet, doubling as both a trademark and a quality guarantee. By the 15th century, watermarking had spread across most of Europe's paper industry as the standard way to prove authenticity — the same basic instinct, marking something to prove where it came from and discourage unauthorized copying, that a text watermark applies to a digital photo more than seven centuries later.
Is Watermark free to use?
Yes. Watermark is completely free, with no sign-up and no usage limits.
Do I need to install any software?
No. Watermark runs directly in your web browser — nothing to download or install.
Is my data kept private?
Everything happens on your device. We never receive or store the file or text you enter into Watermark.