Stock image companies reeling as free AI watermark remover encourages image theft
Jan 30, 2023
Alex Baker
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Share:
How long have you argued the pros and cons of putting a watermark on your photographs? The arguments are strong for both sides, or at least they were. Until recently, that is. WatermarkRemover.io is a powerful AI-run software that allegedly can remove almost any watermark from an image in seconds.
The watermark removal tool is run by Pixelbin.io and is entirely free to use. This could set some consumer photographers on edge who rely on watermarks to deter image theft when sending galleries to clients to proof. In a similar vein, this will also impact stock photography sites, again making it extremely easy to steal copyrighted photos.
As The Verge notes, this isn’t a new phenomenon. Several other watermark remover tools already exist. However, this one is far more accessible, easier to use, and entirely free. In order to remove a watermark before, you had to be quite determined in order to invest the effort in erasing it.
With this AI software, that appears not to be the case. In one single click, the software effectively removes almost all traces of watermarks on the image. It’s available on Android and on the web.
Tests showed that it was effective at removing most stock image site’s watermarks. All except for Getty’s, where considerable artifacts were left. Interestingly enough, these stock photo sites have been among the first to embrace and include AI-generated images to be included in their content.
While WatermarkRemover.io skirts around the issues of copyright infringement in their Frequently Asked Questions, they clearly don’t really give a ‘FAQ’ about the legalities. Instead, they place the responsibility firmly at the user’s feet, stating that “users of this app are solely responsible for any claims, damages, cost, expenses, suit etc brought by any third party pertaining to the usage of the resulting images…”
Of course, removing the watermarks does not in any way remove the copyright of an image, and in doing so, you could be setting yourself up for some copyright infringement lawsuits. DIYP isn’t condoning this new assault of AI on the creative industries. In fact, the only use that I can see for such a tool, is to steal images. You don’t watermark an image if it’s in the public domain or has a creative commons license.
Frankly, I can see no advantage for photographers, and this is yet another example of how unscrupulous “tech bros” are making a quick buck with little to no thought as to how their technology will impact the rest of the world.
Of course, just as with anything, it’s not the AI per se that is at fault. We have covered several interesting instances of it being used for creative and beneficial uses. It all depends on what it is being used for. But make no mistake. AI is already disrupting the creative landscape, and it will only continue. There is no stopping it, we can merely adapt to the challenges that it continues to throw at us.
Maybe at least it’s now time to lay that old argument to rest about whether to watermark your images or not. Clearly, it’s no protection at all anymore against image theft.
[Via The Verge]
Alex Baker
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Related Posts
Ilford stays operational during coronavirus pandemic and encourages you to “stockpile rolls”
Sigma launches photo contest that encourages you to stay and create at home
Don’t try this at home: TikToker encourages people to destroy their lenses with rocks
Flickr teams up with Pixsy to protect photographers from image theft
Join the Discussion
DIYP Comment Policy
Be nice, be on-topic, no personal information or flames.
6 responses to “Stock image companies reeling as free AI watermark remover encourages image theft”
I’ve told people that if they put it online, just assume it will be lifted at some point. When I worked as a marketing exec at one company, I also did the photos. I had a simple image of an employee in a hard hat that was lifted by two companies. They of course denied any wrongdoing.
Also had watermarked wedding images lifted. When I saw the watermark removal hackjobs that the bridezillas did, I stopped watermarking them, because the attempted removal made my images look bad. I just started including web/email images as part of the package. This was in the infancy of digital when some photogs were reluctant to include images for free online distribution.
The emergence of AI will cause many in the photo industry to rethink strategies, from stock photo companies to especially product photographers. BTW, one excellent reason to NOT download the watermark removal software — it’s probably loaded with malware, just like all the garbage apps that appeal to the unsuspecting masses.
“Remove Watermarks from Your Images for FREE”
That’s what it says on their website. I wonder why YOU’d want to remove watermarks from YOUR images though as you probably have photos without the watermarks in the first place…
My son took hundreds of photos with his bridge camera while on a vacation. He did not realize that the time and date stamp he saw on each capture was actually embedded in the photos. There’s at least one case where removing the “watermark” was needed.
VHS Macrovision, Cinavia, EURion-Konstellation/Omron, Cinavia, DVB-HD+, UOP, DVD/BluRay UOP & CSS, hardware serial ID lockouts, license dongles and services (Protexis, FlexLM/FlexNET, the dreaded Sony Rootkit), tamper resistant screws, Javascripts to prevent Save-As, watermarks, … are all perfect ways to waste big bucks and annoy the s* out of legal users but provide little to no protection from criminals.
Even the argumentation about financial loss is probably bogus, as at least one study strongly suggests that most people pirating stuff would not buy the real thing anyway (Google: “Estimating displacement rates of copyrighted content in the EU”).
So if someone steals your stuff and you don’t like that (which is perfectly understandable), feel free so sue. But don’t waste your precious time with watermarks and similar stuff.
I didn’t bother to watermark my images before I even considered this.
I get paid by the client I shoot for. I also don’t want to ruin my work with some self important signature or logo
Do you remember the endings of ’90s, MP3 came up, a years later emule, then torrent; RIAA and other right defendant start a crazy hunt for those “delinquent pirates”… Companies take a long time to change their business models, after pursuing a lot of “delinquent sharing users” but in time they learn and change their business strategies, now you got a lot of music streaming apps for a few coins and get anything you want. The same turned up with movies, with some apps evolved as SASS and so.
AI is here and now, there’s now way to stop it, adapt and learn or die… This disruptive situation is far to be new, internet must keep free, far for governments and corporations control. I’m really concerned about AI and it’s consequences, nobody knows where this is heading us to; but don’t we felt the same when google came up, or torrent/magnet appear, or privacy concerns in early 2010, and so on…
AI deserves a profound discussion in how is used, it’s advantages and disadvantages, it’s consequences and more, with no governments or corporations involved, I agree that with this apps many companies may lose some profits and hegemony, some will adapt, some will parish , just like in MP3 revolution or torrent apps popularity, no one dies, we all adapt to them as we do when MSN cease to be. Now we have smart phones, they were responsibles for the disappearance of portable music players, portable video player, portable game consoles, photo cameras, and line telephony, and we embrace it so thigh that we don’t conceive a life without them, we adapt? This last is for other discussion.
AI is looking for his place, it won’t disappear, it will grow exponentially no matter what we think about it, will find it’s way to grow and evolve, is us who must change our minds and turn such conflictive revolution in something useful instead of scaring, our job.
By the way… we can create and use this apps, we are so smart… we have better cellphones, weapons and more… but in the other dark side of the 3rd or 4rd (whatever order you need), there’s war, hunger, massive killings, epidemics… We concerned about AI and we have to, but no on corporate or governments agenda, don’t forget that they do nothing for people in disgrace, they pursuit power and profit, and as mp3 in it’s time, or cryptocurrencies and now AI make them frightened, we only get concerned and open to discuss where it will lead us to.
Regards.
AlexPsi
@alediaz67