5 ways to remove watermark from photos

Whether you've updated your watermark and want to remove the old watermark or simply don't want it to distract from your photo, the following article will show you how to remove it. You will not affect the layout by cropping the image and watermark nor will it ever exist.

Note: This article does not encourage the unauthorized removal of watermarks from photos to wrongfully claim ownership. This guide is intended to remove watermarks for legitimate reasons, such as updating watermarks or removing watermarks with appropriate consent.

1. How to remove photo watermark in Photoshop

If your watermark has a solid color and no transparency properties, Photoshop's Magic Wand tool can easily do the trick.

With your photo open, right-click the magic wand icon in the left panel and select the Magic Wand tool. Using Machine Learning, the tool can skillfully predict the area you are trying to select, such as the watermark's letters and logo.

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Move the cursor over the watermark and left click. If you're working with multiple letters or shapes, hold down the Shift key as you click to select them all.

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It won't be a perfect choice. To fix this, go to Select > Modify > Expand / Contract. In the dialog box, select the number of pixels by which the selection should be expanded or collapsed. The example changed the selection by 5px, but your selection may be different. Click OK to confirm.

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Go to Edit > Fill. This will open a new box and in the Contents drop-down list, select Content-Aware. Make sure the Color Adaptation box is unchecked. After clicking OK, your watermark will almost completely disappear.

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If there's still some watermark left, use Photoshop's Clone Stamp tool to fix the imperfections.

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If you are working with a transparent watermark as shown in the image below, using Photoshop's AI Generative Fill tool is the best way to remove it.

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With your photo open, select any one of the Marquee or Lasso tools by right-clicking on the second or third icon in the left panel. The Rectangular Marquee tool works perfectly with the example selection, but choose your tool according to the shape of your watermark.

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Now, all you need to do is use Generative Fill. You may have seen this tool in the bar that appears after making your selection. If not, open Window at the top and check Contextual Task Bar at the bottom of the options.

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After the bar appears, select Generative Fill. No need to enter anything in the text box, just press Generate. This tool will create three variations which you can find in Properties on the right. Choose the best photo, export it and you're done!

2. How to remove image watermark in GIMP

The most effective way to remove watermarks with GIMP is to use the Clone tool, and unlike Photoshop, it's completely free. Open your image in GIMP, right click on the stamp icon in the top left and select Clone.

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This tool works similarly to Photoshop's Clone Stamp tool by sampling a portion of the image. First, make sure you set the Size of the Clone tool in the left panel. Hold down the Ctrl key and click or drag over the part of the image you want to sample; Stick to areas near the watermark.

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Then, release the Ctrl button and click on the watermark you want to replace with the template. You can also hold down the mouse button to scan over it. It's time consuming but extremely accurate.

You can do this much faster with the GIMP Resynthesizer plugin, most notably Photoshop's version of the Content-Aware tool. Select your operating system in the Installation section, follow the instructions to download the file, then find and extract the ZIP folder on your computer. To install the GIMP plugin, copy the extracted files to the GIMP plugin folder.

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Restart GIMP and upload your photo. Make a watermark selection - The author used the Rectangle Select tool, but the Free Select tool may work better for you depending on the watermark shape. Right-click on the second or third icon in the left panel to access them.

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Once you have your selection, go to Filters > Enhance > Heal selection. Change the settings if necessary and press OK.

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Once finished (this may take a minute), use the Clone tool to sample and cover up any remaining stains. As you can see, the selection handling in the example isn't perfect, but the Clone tool fixed it right away.

3. How to remove image watermark with Pixlr Express

Pixlr Express is an online image editor so you won't have to download any additional software. Since it's free, your options are a bit limited. Again, you need to use the slow and steady Clone Stamp tool.

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Go to Pixlr Express and upload your image. Navigate to the Retouch tab on the left panel and select Clone Stamp (stamp icon).

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Select Source in the Mode section and click or scan over the area you want to sample. Then set the Mode to Paint and click or scan over the parts of the watermark you want to replace with the sampled area. You can adjust the settings in the Brush section for more precision.

4. How to remove watermark with PicWish Online

PicWish is an AI photo editing app that also offers many online AI tools. Its object removal API works best for watermark removal.

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Go to PicWish Objects Removal API, select Start Now and upload your image in the new tab that opens.

Once in the editor, choose the Brush, Rectangle Tool or Lasso Tool to create a selection for your watermark. Zoom in and out with the scroll wheel, and use the Hand icon to move the image around as needed.

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Once done, click Remove at the top and wait for the process to process. Hover over Save at the top and select Free Image to download the results for free; remember that there will be a drop in quality. To download high resolution images, you need to register.

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Above are the results. not too bad.

5. How to remove image watermark with Picsart

Picsart is one of the most comprehensive mobile photo editing apps, and the free version offers many useful tools, including Generative AI. Using Picsart's AI Replace tool is the fastest way to remove watermarks on mobile devices.

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Open the Picsart application and click the Create button (plus icon) at the bottom. Scroll down to AI Tools and tap AI Replace. Select your image and once in the editor, start scanning over the watermark with your finger. You can zoom in and out by pinching the screen and also adjust the brush size.

Once done, press Replace. On the next page, you will have to provide a written reminder; This feature is typically used to replace one object with another, not to delete something. There is a Remove option but requires registration.

If you don't care about registration and don't want to replace the watermark with any specific object, there are two ways to solve that problem. First, try to describe what the scene behind the watermark looks like with as much accuracy as possible. Or, just type "remove" or "blend" in the prompt text box.

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Once you've resolved the prompt, hit Generate image and Picsart will give you multiple variations. Tap Download to download the image directly to your photo library, or tap the image to continue editing. There's a bit of blurring where the watermark used to be, but the results are still impressive.

There are many tools to help remove watermarks from your photos. Photoshop will give you the clearest results, followed by GIMP. Choose Pixlr Express or PicWish for convenience (no download required) and Picsart for best results on mobile devices.

Kareem Winters

Update 11 January 2024