How to protect your photos online: 9 methods that work

No method makes a photo impossible to copy: anything shown on a screen can be captured. But you can make theft less tempting, make your ownership easy to prove, and above all find and act on copies quickly.

Make theft less tempting

Publish in moderate resolution: 1,600 to 2,000 pixels on the long side is enough on screen and useless for print.
Add a discreet watermark placed where it is hard to crop out. It deters opportunistic copying and reminds people who the author is.
Show a clear licence notice on your site: “© Name, all rights reserved, licensing on request”, with a contact link.

Make your ownership easy to prove

Fill in your IPTC metadata (creator, copyright, contact). Frolay Protect can export your photos with these fields filled in.
Keep your RAW files and the full series, backed up in two places.
Timestamp your files with a trusted timestamp (RFC 3161), added automatically by Frolay Protect on upload.
Register your key images in the US if your work is used there: it unlocks statutory damages.

Are your photos being used without your permission?Frolay Protect scans the web, checks every page and prepares your evidence and letters.

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Detect copies and act fast

Monitor your photos with regular reverse image searches, or automatically with Frolay Protect, which alerts you to each new use.
Act quickly when you find a copy: capture the evidence, then ask for removal or payment.

What hardly works

Disabling right-click: a screenshot bypasses it in one second, and it annoys your genuine visitors.
Invisible overlays on images: easy to get around and bad for accessibility.
Not publishing at all: you lose visibility and clients; it is better to publish and monitor.

Frequently asked questions

Is a watermark enough to protect a photo?

No, a watermark can be cropped or removed with editing tools. It mainly deters casual theft and reminds people who the author is. Combine it with monitoring and proof of authorship. In the US, removing a watermark can itself violate the DMCA (17 U.S.C. § 1202).

Do social networks keep metadata?

Most big networks strip some or all metadata on upload. It is still useful on your own site, in files sent to clients and as proof of authorship.

Can I stop people downloading images from my site?

Not completely: any image shown on screen can be captured. You can only make copying harder and, above all, detect reuse.

How do I find out if my photos are used without permission?

With a reverse image search on Google Lens, Bing or TinEye, or automatically with Frolay Protect, which monitors your photos continuously.