ID copy watermark

What to write on a document copy

A note such as "For Riverside Bank account opening only" records who you handed the copy to and what it was for. If the copy turns up somewhere else, the mismatch is easy to spot.

The recipient is the company or person receiving the copy, the purpose is the one task it is for, and the date is the day you hand it over. The narrower the three are, the less room there is for the copy to be reused. The closing "Not valid for other uses" is optional and makes the intent clearer.

Five common situations

The names in the examples are made up. Replace them with the organisation you are actually dealing with. If a placeholder such as XX is still in the text, the tool points it out before you export.

The tool starts on "Custom", where you type the whole sentence yourself. Pick one of the templates above and you only fill in the recipient and the purpose; the sentence is assembled for you.

Where to place the watermark

Put the watermark across the printed text on the document. A mark tucked into an empty corner disappears as soon as someone crops that corner off.

At the same time, do not bury the photo, the name or the document number. Whoever receives the copy still has to read those, and an unreadable copy usually gets sent back.

• Keep the opacity low enough that the text underneath is still readable.
• In tiled mode, keep the type small and leave space between rows so the fields are not covered end to end.
• In single placement, cross a block of text and avoid the portrait. Do not park it in a corner.

Ask before you hand it over

Some offices want to see the original in person, and some will not accept a copy with anything written over it. Ask the person handling your case whether a note is fine and how they want it worded, so you do not have to make the trip twice.

How to set the watermark up

The defaults (tiled, 30% opacity, -30° angle, ink blue) suit most documents. The notes below help if you want to adjust them.

Tiled or single placement

Tiled repeats the same sentence diagonally across the whole document, so it survives any crop. It is the safer option and the default.

Single placement puts the sentence in one spot. The result is cleaner and the details underneath stay easy to read, which helps when the recipient wants a light touch. The downside is that one mark is easier to crop or paint out. In this mode you can drag the text on the preview to position it.

A signature or logo image watermark has the same two arrangements, set separately from the text: tile the sentence and place the signature once, for example. Text and image watermarks can each be included in the export or left out.

Aim for 25% to 40% opacity

Below 20% the mark tends to vanish once the copy is photographed, printed or squeezed through a messaging app. Above 50% it covers the document so the recipient cannot check the details. Between 25% and 40% usually works for both.

On a dark document or an underexposed photo, raise the opacity a little or turn on "Text outline" so the letters get a contrasting edge.

Choosing a colour

Pick a colour that contrasts with the background and does not blend into the printed text.

• Ink blue: the default. Readable on most documents and it looks like a handwritten note.
• Black: good when the copy will be photocopied in black and white, but it can merge with the printed text.
• Red: stands out, except on documents with a red or orange background.
• Grey: understated and fine on light documents. Raise the opacity if it gets too faint.
• White: only for dark documents, and clearer with the outline on.

Type size

For card sized documents (ID card, health card, driver’s licence) 8 pt to 12 pt works well, roughly the size of the text already printed there. The tool defaults to 10 pt. Too large and the sentence no longer fits on the card, so only a fragment shows and the meaning is lost. Too small and it is unreadable once printed.

For other documents (passport, bankbook) the size is shown as a percentage of the image’s long edge, so rotating the photo by 90° does not change it. Start from the default and adjust to the text on the document. A single placement sentence that will not fit on a portrait photo is scaled down automatically.

Is my photo uploaded

No. Reading the photo, straightening the crop, adding the watermark and writing the output file all happen in your browser. There is no server here that receives photos. The photo lives in this tab’s memory only, and it is gone when you close or reload the page.

• The downloaded or shared image is redrawn from scratch, so it carries none of the original capture data (EXIF): no timestamp, device model or GPS location.
• The browser remembers watermark styling only (font, colour, opacity and so on) so you do not have to set it up again. The text you type and the photo itself are never stored.
• Watermark fonts are downloaded from Google Fonts. Google receives the request for the font files, and that request does not contain the watermark text you typed.
• A signature or logo image you add is used in the browser only.

Check it yourself

Once a photo is chosen and the editor is open, you can keep editing offline; only switching fonts still needs the network. To check for yourself, pick a photo while online, wait for the editor and choose the font you want, then put the phone into airplane mode. Typing the text, adjusting the watermark and downloading all still work.

For the details on fonts, analytics and server logs, see the privacy notice.

Frequently asked questions