Fix Watermark

How to watermark photos on a Mac

On a Mac, open the photo in Preview, show the Markup toolbar, choose Text, type your mark and drag the text box into place. Photos has a Markup tool with a Text option in its editor. For many photos at once, Fix Watermark in Safari or Chrome adds one mark to the whole batch.

Published . Drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources linked on this page. How we write our guides.

Add a watermark to photos on a Mac with Preview

Preview, the app that opens images on a Mac, has a Markup toolbar with a Text tool. Apple's annotate an image page describes it as "Type your text, then drag the text box where you want." That makes a typed mark, for example your name or website, on one photo at a time.

In Preview on a Mac, from the Preview User Guide for macOS 27 Golden Gate (steps checked October 2026):

  1. Go to the Preview app on your Mac.
  2. Open the image you want to annotate.
  3. Click the button that shows the Markup toolbar, if the toolbar isn't showing. Apple draws this button as an icon and gives it no name.
  4. Use the tools in the toolbar to mark up the image.

For a typed mark, Apple's table row for Text is the one to use: type your text, then drag the text box where you want it. The table also lists Text Style, which changes "the font or the font style and color". It lists no opacity setting for text and no size or position in percent, so we cannot promise a faint or exactly placed mark from Preview. If you need those, see the browser route below.

Apple warns that if you annotate an image file, you can't edit, move or delete the annotations after you save the image. We suggest keeping an untouched original in another folder before you start.

Export from Preview under a new name

Apple's export page gives these steps for Preview on macOS 27 Golden Gate (steps checked October 2026):

  1. Go to the Preview app on your Mac.
  2. Open the PDF or image you want to export.
  3. Choose File > Export.
  4. Select a file type from the Format pop-up menu.

Apple's convert page adds that you can type a new name, or choose a new location, then click Save, and that for JPEG you can adjust the quality. Neither page uses the word copy; in our reading, a new name and place gives you a separate file from the one you opened.

Watermark image on a Mac with Photos

The Photos app has its own Markup tool. Apple's Markup page for Photos lists these steps, the same in the macOS 27 Golden Gate and macOS Sequoia 15 releases of the Photos User Guide (steps checked October 2026):

  1. Go to the Photos app on your Mac.
  2. Double-click a photo, then click Edit in the toolbar.
  3. Click the button Apple shows as an icon, then choose Markup.
  4. Use the tools that appear in the toolbar to mark up the photo. Its Text row reads "Type your text, then drag the text box where you want."
  5. Click Save Changes.

Apple adds that the Markup tools cannot change a video. Apple's editing basics page says Photos keeps the original when you change a photo, so you can revert to it, and that duplicating a photo lets you work on the copy.

To get the marked photo out as a file, Apple's export page lists File > Export > Export [number] Photos, and, as a separate command, Export Unmodified Original. Apple does not spell out that the first includes your Markup; in our reading, it does, and the second does not.

Watermark many photos on a Mac

Apple documents batches only for other jobs. Preview converts several images at once ("open the files in one window, select them in that window's sidebar"), but that tip is about changing file types, and Apple's annotate page does not say a text mark applies to several images. Photos can copy and paste edits to several photos, but Apple's editing basics page does not name Markup among the edits, so we do not suggest it for a mark.

For a batch, use Fix Watermark. It runs in any current Safari, Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a Mac, and nothing is uploaded. These are our tool's steps:

  1. Open the page, then drop your photos on it, choose them, or press Add a folder.
  2. Under Watermark type pick Text or Logo. For text, type it in Watermark text.
  3. Set Size (% of image width), Opacity (%) and Position. You can also drag the mark in the preview.
  4. With more than one photo, press Download ZIP or Download each file.

Free: up to 50 photos per run, and runs are unlimited. No watermark of ours on your photos, ever. Original pixel size; JPEG and WebP are re-encoded at the quality you choose. Safari 17 and later can also open HEIC photos; Chrome, Edge and Firefox are reported not to (see the browser support data). Pro is a one-time purchase of US$29, for runs larger than the free line allows. The full walk-through is in our guide to batch watermarking photos.

For a logo instead of text, we suggest making the logo on a transparent background first: see our guide to a transparent PNG logo. If you also use a phone, the steps are in our guide to watermarking photos on an iPhone.

Sources

Checked October 30, 2026.

Questions

Can I watermark a photo in Preview on a Mac?
Yes, with the Text tool in the Markup toolbar: type your text and drag the text box where you want it. Apple lists font, font style and colour for text, but no opacity setting.
Can I change the annotation in Preview after saving?
Apple says you can't edit, move or delete annotations on an image file after you save it. We suggest keeping an unmarked original.
Does the Photos app on a Mac have a watermark feature?
Its editor has a Markup tool with a Text option; Apple's page does not call it a watermark. Photos keeps the original so you can revert to it.
How do I watermark many photos at once on a Mac?
Apple's pages describe batches for converting file types and for copying edits, not for adding text. Fix Watermark adds one mark to a whole batch in your browser, and free runs are unlimited.

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