Make copying slower, more obvious and traceable.

No watermark is removal-proof, and we will not pretend otherwise. Semuko makes copies harder to clean up automatically, and helps you find out which gallery and download a leaked photo came from.

Start free trial All gallery features

In every plan. Forensic marks are off until you turn them on per gallery.

Bride with a long veil on a pebble beach — x-1.4% y-1.9%
109% -4° 97%

Peach rose bouquet against a white dress — x-1.4% y-1.9%
109% -4° 97%

Four layers, each doing one honest job

Vary every photo
Each photo gets its own slightly different position, size, angle and strength of your watermark, so one cleaned-up copy does not show where the mark sits on the rest.
Hide a forensic mark
Per gallery, Semuko hides a code in the previews and web downloads clients get, invisible at normal viewing. Each visitor’s downloads get their own code.
Limit preview size
Show smaller previews, for example 1600 px, until a client pays or buys. Downloads follow your download settings.
Trace a leaked photo
Found a copy online? Upload it and Semuko shows which gallery and photo it came from and, for downloads, which visitor downloaded it.

Trace a leaked photo, and what a match means.

Trace looks for the hidden code in the copy you upload, also trying 90, 180 and 270 degree rotations and a mirror flip. When it finds one, the code maps to a gallery, a photo and, for downloads, the visitor who downloaded it and when. A match shows which download a copy came from, not who posted it: downloads get shared.

Your originals and lab print files are never marked. Marking full-resolution client downloads is a separate switch, off by default.

IMG_4471.jpg

Re-saved, cropped, 1080 px

What we measured, with the conditions.

In our tests on 90 photos, the mark was found after JPEG re-saving, resizing to half size and 10% crops in at least 98% of cases, and after browser-style screenshots in 81%.

Trace a leaked photo results on 90 test photos at 1600 px
Copy made by	Mark found
As served, no changes	90 of 90
JPEG re-save, quality 70	90 of 90
JPEG re-save, quality 50	89 of 90
Resized to half size	90 of 90
10% crop	90 of 90
Browser-style screenshot	73 of 90
Unmarked photos reported as marked	0 of 90

Photos at 1600 px, served the way galleries serve them, then decoded the way Trace decodes them. Smaller copies hold up less well: on 800 px grid thumbnails, screenshots were traced in 11 of 30. Not tested and expected to fail: odd-angle rotation, perspective changes, heavy blur or grading, AI upscaling or regeneration, and very tight crops.

Why varying the watermark helps, and where it stops.

In our tests on 90 photos, automatic tools that look for a watermark repeated across a gallery found none of the watermarks set this way, while the same corner watermark in a fixed spot was found and removed in 50-81% of photos. It does not stop someone who traces the watermark by hand.

In the same tests, free AI inpainting tools erased every watermark style we offer, including ours, when someone traced the watermark by hand. What still helped: when a visible watermark was removed, our invisible forensic mark was still found in more than 90% of those copies.

Styles: a classic mark, diagonal repeats across the photo, a fine all-over texture, or one mark across the subject.
A strength meter rates your watermark Light, Good or Strong as a guide to how much work it is to crop or paint out. It is a guide, not a removal test.
Add a thin outline so thin or script logos stay visible on any background, and watermark grid thumbnails too if you want screenshots of the grid to carry your mark.

Screenshot Shield in the Glowsake app.

In the Glowsake app (coming soon to the App Store and Google Play), Screenshot Shield blocks screenshots and screen recordings on Android, and on iPhone tells the client the studio has asked that photos are not captured and can see when a screenshot is taken. iPhones do not let any app block a screenshot, so we say so. On the web, nothing can block a screenshot; that is what the forensic mark is for.

No watermark or hidden mark is removal-proof. Heavy edits, tight crops and AI tools can remove them. These tools deter copying and help you trace copies; they cannot prevent it. For private work, pair them with sensitive galleries.

What each plan includes

Watermarks with Vary every photo
Essentials
Included
Studio Pro
Included
Agency Unlimited
Included
Invisible forensic marks, per gallery
Essentials
Included
Studio Pro
Included
Agency Unlimited
Included
Trace a leaked photo
Essentials
Included
Studio Pro
Included
Agency Unlimited
Included
Preview size limit until payment
Essentials
Included
Studio Pro
Included
Agency Unlimited
Included

What each Semuko plan includes
Feature	Essentials$39.95/mo	Studio Pro$79.99/mo	Agency Unlimited$149.99/mo
Watermarks with Vary every photo	Included	Included	Included
Invisible forensic marks, per gallery	Included	Included	Included
Trace a leaked photo	Included	Included	Included
Preview size limit until payment	Included	Included	Included

Plans are billed monthly or yearly (10% off yearly). Every plan starts with a 30-day free trial that includes Galleries Pro. Full pricing

Questions studios ask

Can watermarks or invisible marks stop people stealing my photos?

No. No watermark or hidden mark is removal-proof. Heavy edits, tight crops and AI tools can remove them. Semuko makes copying slower, more obvious and traceable, and helps you find out which gallery and download a copy came from.

Will the forensic mark change how my photos look?

It is invisible at normal viewing. An expert comparing a marked copy with the original can sometimes see it on smooth skin or flat backdrops. Your originals and lab print files are never marked.

Does Trace prove who posted a photo?

No. A match shows which gallery and photo a copy came from and, for downloads, which visitor downloaded it. Downloads get shared, so it tells you where to start a conversation, not who posted it.

Is Vary every photo on by default?

Yes, for new watermarks. Existing watermarks keep their look until you turn it on.

Do you use AI to detect my photos online?

No. Semuko does not crawl the web. You upload a copy you found, and Trace looks for the code hidden in it.