About this tool
The watermark is rendered directly onto the image using the Canvas API, with adjustable position and opacity, before you download the result.
How to use the Watermark Adder
- Choose an image to watermark.
- Type your watermark text, such as a name, brand, or copyright notice.
- Pick a position and opacity — the preview updates instantly.
- Download the watermarked image once it looks right.
Common use cases
- Adding a copyright notice before sharing photography online
- Branding preview images before sending a draft to a client
- Marking sample or proof images to discourage unauthorized use
Worked example
A photographer sharing proofs with a client before purchase might type "© Jane Doe Photography — PROOF" as the watermark text, set the position to Center, and drop the opacity down to around 30–40% — visible enough to discourage someone from screenshotting and using the proof, but not so heavy it obscures whether the client actually likes the shot. For a subtler brand mark on finished work meant for public sharing, Bottom Right at 60–70% opacity is a more common choice — noticeable enough for attribution but tucked out of the way of the main subject.
Things to watch out for
Because the watermark is drawn as flat text on top of the image, a light-colored watermark can become nearly invisible over a light region of the photo (a bright sky, for instance), even at high opacity — check the preview against your actual image content, not just a mental default. Also, this tool only applies a single line of plain text; it doesn't support a logo image, multiple watermark instances tiled across the photo, or rotated diagonal text, so for a more elaborate protection scheme you'd need dedicated photo-editing software rather than a quick browser tool. Keep in mind too that a watermark is a deterrent, not a hard barrier — a determined person can crop or clone-stamp around a small corner mark, which is why photographers sharing genuinely high-value proofs often place the mark across a more central, harder-to-crop-around part of the frame despite the extra visual intrusion.
How the watermark is sized and placed
The text size scales with the photo, so a watermark looks the same on a small image and a large one. The font size is the image width divided by 22, rounded, with a minimum of 16 pixels. The text is bold sans-serif, filled white at your chosen opacity, with a thin dark outline at 60% of that opacity so it stays readable on light areas.
| Image width | Watermark text height (font size) |
|---|---|
| 800 px | 36 px |
| 1,080 px | 49 px |
| 1,920 px | 87 px |
| 3,024 px | 137 px |
| 4,032 px | 183 px |
The gap from the edges equals the font size. For the Center option, the text is centered left to right, and its baseline, the line the letters sit on, is placed at the middle of the image, so the words sit just above the exact center.
Why a long watermark gets cut off
The text is not wrapped or shrunk to fit. Because the letters are sized from the image width, a long notice can end up wider than the photo, and in a corner position it keeps its one-font-size gap on the corner's side and runs off the other side. Shorten the text, for example to a name or site address, or choose Center, which uses the full width with no edge gap and trims evenly on both sides if the text is still too long.
Copyright notice basics (United States)
According to the US Copyright Office, a copyright notice has been optional for works published on or after March 1, 1989, so a photo is protected without one. Adding one still tells viewers who owns it. The standard form has three parts:
- The symbol ©, or the word “Copyright” or the abbreviation “Copr.”
- The year the work was first published.
- The name of the copyright owner.
For example: © 2026 Your Studio Name. To type ©, press Option + G on a Mac, or hold Alt and type 0169 on the numeric keypad in Windows. On a phone, long-press or search the symbol keyboard, or copy it from the Special Characters tool.
What the downloaded file contains
- PNG images are saved as PNG. Every other format, including WebP and GIF, is saved as JPG at quality 0.92, and transparent areas turn black because JPG has no transparency.
- The image keeps its original pixel dimensions. Resize it separately with the Image Resizer if needed.
- Camera metadata such as EXIF date and GPS location is not carried over, because the image is redrawn on a canvas.
- Your photo is read with the browser’s FileReader and processed on your device. Nothing is uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
Yes — the text is drawn directly onto the image pixels using the Canvas API before download, so it's part of the image itself, not an overlay that can be toggled off.
Yes — the opacity slider controls how transparent or solid the watermark text appears, from a subtle 10% to a fully solid 100%.
No — the watermark is applied locally using the Canvas API. Your image never leaves your browser.
This tool sets the size for you: the text height is about one twenty-second of the image width, so a 1,920-pixel-wide photo gets 87-pixel text and a 4,032-pixel photo gets 183-pixel text. That is large enough to read in a social feed without covering the subject. For proofs you want to protect, use the Center position.
In the United States, no. The US Copyright Office says a notice has been optional for works published on or after March 1, 1989, so your photos are protected without it. A notice such as © 2026 plus your name still makes ownership clear to anyone who sees the image.
The text is drawn on one line and is not shrunk to fit, so a long notice can run past the edge of the image and be clipped. This is most noticeable in the corner positions. Shorten the text, or switch to Center, which starts the text so it has the same space on both sides.