How to put a watermark on iPhone photos and UK ID copies
For a single picture, open it in Photos, tap Edit, then Markup, and use the Add button to place a text box with your name or shop. On a copy of a passport or photocard licence, write who it is for, the purpose and the date across the page instead, and check first whether a copy is what the organisation needs.
A seller wants a name on product shots so they are not lifted without credit; someone renting a flat or starting a job wants a passport copy that is useless to anyone but the organisation that asked. The iPhone does both without another app, with different wording.
One picture: Markup in Photos
- Open the picture in Photos and tap Edit, then the Markup pen.
- In the Markup toolbar, tap the Add button and choose Add Text.
- Tap the new text box and type your mark. The toolbar sets the font, size, alignment, style and colour.
- Drag the box where you want it, tap outside it to finish, then tap Done to keep the edit.
Photos keeps your original underneath. Should you change your mind, open the picture, tap the More button and choose Revert to Original. That fixes the copy in your library only; anything already posted or emailed keeps the mark.
A credit tucked into a corner takes one crop to remove. Placing it over the busy middle of the shot, or repeating it, makes it harder to cut out.
Many pictures: a shortcut you build once
To mark every product photo the same way, build a chain once in Shortcuts: Select Photos, Overlay Text with your shop name, then Save to Photo Album, which adds the result as a new picture. Use Overlay Image for a logo, and wrap the overlay in Repeat with Each when you pick several photos.
What to write on a passport or licence copy
For an identity document, the useful watermark is a sentence rather than a signature. Write the organisation, the reason and the date right across the page, for example “Copy for Harbour Lettings only, tenancy reference check, 13 October 2026”.
Leave the details the recipient actually needs readable. UK data protection law expects organisations to hold no more personal data than their purpose requires, so if a field plays no part in the check, ask whether you can blank it with the redaction tool before you add the mark. The free watermark tool does the lettering for you in Safari, without uploading the file.
A watermark makes reuse awkward; it does not make misuse impossible. For the full checklist on sending, see Is it safe to send a picture of your ID in the UK?
When the organisation should not want your copy
Some UK checks are built around the original document, not a picture you send:
- Right to work: an employer checks your original documents with you present, uses an identity service provider, or views a share code online. It then makes its own copy that cannot be changed and keeps it while you work there and for 2 years after.
- Right to rent in England: a landlord sees your originals with you present, uses a registered Digital Verification Service, or views a share code, then keeps their copy for the tenancy and one year after.
- Car hire: a hire firm that wants your driving record can take a DVLA check code, created on GOV.UK with your licence number, National Insurance number and postcode, and valid for 21 days.
A watermarked scan suits the informal stages around these: a referencing pack, a pre-employment file, a booking. Ask which one you are dealing with before you send anything.
In Dokus
Dokus adds the mark when you share from the wallet. Type who the copy is for and the shared image or PDF carries a diagonal pattern with that name and the date, while the passport or licence stored in Dokus stays clean for the next request.
Common questions
Will a letting agent accept a watermarked passport copy?
It depends on what the copy is for. The legal right to rent check in England uses your original document with you present, a registered digital check or a share code, and the landlord makes their own copy. For other paperwork, ask the agent before you send so a marked copy is not rejected.
Can I take a Markup watermark off later?
Yes, in your own library. Open the edited picture, tap More and choose Revert to Original. Copies you have already sent or posted keep the watermark.
Does a shortcut overwrite my photos?
No. A shortcut ending in Save to Photo Album adds the watermarked image as a new picture and leaves the one you selected unchanged.
