DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Google proposes solution that makes watermarks more difficult to remove

Aug 18, 2017 by Dunja Djudjic 2 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Google’s recent research has shown that an algorithm can easily remove watermarks automatically, making the images vulnerable to unauthorized use. In their latest paper, they present the solution that should help photographers and stock photo websites increase the watermark protection.

The problem with watermarks is that they’re added consistently throughout the series of images, especially on stock websites. This continuity enables the algorithm to detect the pattern. It then easily discovers which part of the image is a watermark, and it removes it entirely to access a clean image. The access to an automated system like this can increase unauthorized use of photos. To prevent it, it’s necessary to add inconsistencies into the watermark pattern.

 

The researchers looked at several types of inconsistencies that could disable the algorithm from removing watermarks: changing its position, changing opacity and random warping. Changing the position and opacity don’t give the desired results, and the algorithm can still remove it from the photo. However, random warping gives the best results. Very subtle wrapping can make the watermark more robust, and prevent the algorithm from removing it.

The subtle random wrapping doesn’t affect the visual appearance of the watermark, yet it disables the algorithm from detecting the pattern and removing it. The algorithm can still analyze the images, but detecting all the changes is a more demanding task. When the same process is applied to the series of photos with randomized watermarks, here’s the result:

With results like this, it’s only possible to remove the watermark manually. It’s a tedious job, and many people are likely to give up the image theft because of it. However, Google claims there’s no guarantee even this randomize scheme will be impossible to break in the future. But still, for now, it can be a helpful solution for all photographers and stock photo communities.

[via Google Research Blog; image credits: Google]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Nvidia trains AI to remove noise and watermarks by looking only at corrupted photos Imatag adds invisible watermarks to your photos to protect them from being stolen Google & MIT’s New Algorithm Uses Edge Detection To Remove Reflections From Photos Google will soon automatically remove unwanted objects from photos

Filed Under: news Tagged With: algorithm, google, Photography, Protection, watermarks

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« The definitive guide to not messing up your solar eclipse timelapse
This is the oldest known portrait of a U.S. President »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex 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

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy