How to add a watermark to a photo
Phone camera rolls have no built-in watermark feature. Here is what actually adds text to a photo before you share it.
Why this needs a separate step
A watermark is text or a logo layered onto a photo, usually to mark ownership or discourage unauthorized use before sharing a preview or a sample image. Neither the iPhone nor Android Photos app, nor Windows Photos, has a built-in way to add this kind of text overlay; their editing tools cover cropping, filters and basic adjustments, not adding new text to the image.
On an iPhone or iPad
The Markup tool (available from the Photos app's edit screen, or the share sheet's Markup option) can add text to a photo by tapping the + button and choosing Text, then positioning and resizing it. This works for a one-off photo but has no way to save a watermark style to reuse, and repeating it across many photos means doing this manually each time.
On Android
Most Android phones' built-in Photos or Gallery apps don't include a markup or text tool at all; Google Photos' editor covers filters and adjustments only. Adding text on Android typically means a separate app made for the purpose.
On a Mac or Windows
Preview on a Mac has a Markup toolbar with a text tool, similar to iPhone's Markup, reached from the toolbar's annotation icon. Windows' Photos app has no equivalent text-overlay tool; adding text there means a separate editor.
A tool built for watermarking many photos at once
Stayput's watermark image tool is built for this specifically: set the text once (a name, copyright line or website), choose a corner, the centre, or a repeated pattern across the photo, adjust size, opacity and colour, and apply it to a batch of photos at once, all in the browser with nothing uploaded. This avoids repeating the Markup trick photo by photo.
Questions
Can I watermark several photos at once?
Yes, a dedicated watermarking tool applies the same text, position and style to a batch of photos in one step, unlike Markup-based methods which handle one photo at a time.
Does adding a watermark reduce the photo's resolution?
No, a well-built watermarking tool adds the text or logo at the photo's original resolution rather than resizing or recompressing the image itself.
Can I make the watermark harder to remove by repeating it across the image?
Yes, a repeated, semi-transparent watermark pattern across the whole photo is harder to crop or clone out than a single watermark in one corner.
Is watermarking free?
Yes, both the built-in Markup tools on iPhone and Mac, and a browser-based watermarking tool, are free; some online watermarking services add their own logo unless you pay, which a tool that doesn't do that avoids.