Video Watermark

How to use 4 steps

Choose your video under Video file.
Under Mark, use a Logo image or Text.
Set the Placement, Corner, Size and Opacity.
Press Add Watermark, keep this tab in front, then download the result.

Video file

MP4, WebM and MOV. Nothing is uploaded — the file is decoded and re-encoded by your own device.

Watermarked Video

How this tool works

A logo or a line of text is drawn onto every frame as the video is encoded, so the mark becomes part of the picture rather than a layer sitting on top. That is the point: it survives being downloaded, reposted and screen-recorded. The preview shows a real frame from your file with the mark in place, so the size and opacity can be judged before anything is encoded.

Placement is the decision that matters most. A mark in one corner is removed with a single crop, along with a sliver of picture nobody will miss — it is attribution rather than protection. A tiled pattern runs diagonally across the whole frame and cannot be cropped away without destroying the video underneath it. Both are useful; they are useful for different things, and it is worth knowing which one you have chosen.

What a watermark does and does not do

It deters rather than prevents: a determined person can crop, blur or paint out a mark, and the tools for doing so have improved a great deal. A watermark raises the effort and records where the video came from. It does not stop copying.
A corner mark is one crop away: use it where you want the video shared and simply credited. Where the video is a paid asset or a preview, tile the mark instead — that is the only version that cannot be removed by cropping.
Twenty to forty percent opacity is usually right: below twenty the mark vanishes on busy footage, which is exactly the footage people want to take. Above forty it stops anyone wanting to watch. Judge it on your own video rather than on a flat background.
Keep something short: a domain or a handle. A domain survives being reposted without context, because anyone who sees it knows where to look. Long text becomes unreadable at any opacity that leaves the video watchable.

Drawn into the picture, not laid over it

The [msm_tool slug="video-watermark"] draws the chosen logo or text directly onto every frame as the video is encoded, rather than compositing it as a separate layer that a player draws on top. That is the entire point of building it this way: a mark that is part of the picture itself survives being downloaded, reposted to another platform, or even screen-recorded, none of which a layered overlay would.

Corner or tiled: attribution against something closer to protection

A mark placed in a corner is removed by a single crop, along with a sliver of picture nobody watching will miss — it identifies where a video came from without trying to stop anyone taking it. A tiled pattern runs diagonally across the entire frame instead, and cropping it away would mean cropping away most of the video underneath it too. Both are legitimate choices; they are just answers to different questions, and it is worth being clear on which one is actually being asked.

It deters, it does not prevent

Anyone determined enough can crop, blur or paint out a mark, and the software for doing so has become considerably better at it. What a watermark actually buys is raised effort and a record of origin on anything shared casually — not protection against someone who specifically wants the mark gone.

Choosing an opacity

Somewhere between twenty and forty percent tends to be the working range: below twenty the mark disappears into busy footage, which is exactly the footage most worth marking, and above forty it starts to interfere with watching the video at all. Judging it against the actual footage rather than a flat test background matters, since a mark that looks right on solid colour can vanish or dominate once real motion is behind it.

Size as a share of the frame, and keeping text short

The mark's size is set as a percentage of the frame width rather than a fixed pixel count, so one setting reads the same whether the export is 720p or 4K. Text held to a short domain or handle survives being reposted without any surrounding context, because anyone who notices it knows where to look next — longer text becomes unreadable at any opacity that still leaves the video watchable.

Once exported, it cannot be undone

The mark is drawn into the pixels of the output file, not stored as a separate, removable layer, so there is no later step that lifts it back off. Keeping an unmarked original on hand is worth doing from the start, for whenever the mark needs to change or someone genuinely needs a clean copy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Specific to the Video Watermark. Broader questions about this category are answered on the category page.

Corner or tiled — which should I use?

Corner for attribution on something you want shared. Tiled where the video must not be reused, because a corner mark is removed with one crop and a tiled pattern cannot be without damaging the video.

Will this stop people stealing my video?

No. It raises the effort and marks where the video came from, which is enough for casual reuse and not for anyone determined. Publishing at a lower resolution protects commercial reuse far more effectively.

Can the watermark be removed later?

Not from the exported file — it is drawn into the pixels. Always work from a copy and keep the original clean, because you will want it when the mark changes or someone asks for an unmarked version.

What size should the mark be?

The size is a share of the frame width rather than a pixel value, so one setting looks right whether the video is 720 or 4K. Medium suits most footage; large is for tiling, where each repetition should still be readable.

Why has the sound gone?

MP4 needs the AAC codec, which Firefox cannot encode on any platform and no browser can encode on desktop Linux. The page says so before you start. Chrome, Edge or Safari keeps the audio.