How to protect from image theft

[cray101]

Hey all,

I thought facebook was a great medium to share my images with friends and get some feedback too. But I did not know until very recently that the photos you upload on facebook can be downloaded by other users and reused and you wouldn't even know about it (forget getting credit for it)

Same is the story with blogs, your photos can be right-clicked and saved. Or even on flickr.

When you post your images on the internet, you expect them to be viewed, and shared and acknowledged as your work. You wouldn't want another person claiming your work for his own.

What would make such theft increasingly difficult would be a way to make your images undownloadable. I'm not quite sure how this can be done..
I'd like my photos freely viewable, linkable and shareable, but not downloadable(at any resolution/quality). Is it even possible on the internet?

I'd like to know if there is a way that makes downloading your photos very difficult, if not completely impossible?

[Jim Poor]

In short, no.

There are ways to make it a bit more difficult on site that you control yourself, but even then there are ways around every "protection" method that I know of.

[theosus]

Originally Posted by cray101

Hey all,
What would make such theft increasingly difficult would be a way to make your images undownloadable. I'm not quite sure how this can be done..
I'd like my photos freely viewable, linkable and shareable, but not downloadable(at any resolution/quality). Is it even possible on the internet?

Its not possible. There are ways on some sites to turn off the "right click and save", but you have to have access to the source code, so its not possible in facebook. However - Ctrl+PrntScrn will take a screen shot. If that doesn't work (and I see no reason why it wouldn't except in some applications like zinio), there are programs out there like SnagIt that will take screen shots when all else fails. There are even ways to download videos, like on youtube. The "Web Video Downloader" by sothink will copy any video you watch off youtube, so just because there's no download button, don't think "once I take this youtube video down no one can watch it". If you are that paranoid, put a big watermark across it, somewhere where it cant be cropped.
I think when you start putting stuff on the internet, you almost have to say to yourself, "My stuff will be downloaded, my stuff will be saved by other people, and my stuff will probably be posted on other people's sites, not because they are trying to take credit for my stuff, but because they want to put my pretty picture in a collection of all the pretty pictures they like (i.e. sunsets/landscapes/underwear models...)"
Its just the nature of the beast. You can get lots of exposure and comments on the net you would never get otherwise, but some of those same people are going to like your stuff so much, they are going to want to keep a copy of your picture.

[LMAshton]

Even disabling the right click/save image as isn't foolproof. There's an extension for Firefox that disables that disabling, probably for other browsers as well.

Like the others said, no, what you're asking for can't be done. It's just the nature of the beast.

[Biomech]

The short answer is if someone wants it, they'll get it. As Jim Poor pointed out, there are alot of ways to make it more difficult. I'm personally more concerned about clients stealing the pictures and not paying me for them as well as getting credit so I watermark mine. So it really depends on WHO it is you're trying to put off.

Just a FYI - When you go to a webpage, EVERYTHING is downloaded to your computer automatically. You browser (firefox, internet explorer) uses the html file to put all of those parts (photos, flash, colours) together like a jigsaw puzzle. So essentially (for the sake of simplicity), you can go to your computers "temporary" files and pull out all of the files that make up that webpage.

[BK553]

Watermark your images. Its like free advertising, since people know where it came from. Also, any manipulation or removal of the watermark proves willful infringement if you ever have to go to court (not likely). In addition it makes it easier to prove that an image is yours and should be taken down if the watermark isn't removed, but the image is reposted without your permission.

Like Jim said, nothing is foolproof. May as well make it a little harder for someone to steal, often times this small amount of effort will keep them searching for an easier target.

[mandyatm]

My right click is disabled on my blog/website and in my proof galleries, but my clients were still using things like one crop photo to get the pictures on their Facebook before they even placed their orders. So now everything is watermarked. They still try to crop it out and it makes the picture look rediculous, but I now have a clause in my contract specifically for Facebook use. But I think if you watermark, at least you are saying plain and clear that this is MY image, do not copy. Some will do it anyway, but it makes it harder. I hate that I have to put a watermark through the middle of my pictures. But clients were just taking them too easily before. Some clients are perfectly happy with a small, low res picture and won't order more if they can get that. Most don't want a watermark through them though. And if they do steal it and post with your watermark, that's free advertising, as said above.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by cray101

But I did not know until very recently that the photos you upload on facebook can be downloaded by other users and reused and you wouldn't even know about it (forget getting credit for it)

Same is the story with blogs, your photos can be right-clicked and saved. Or even on flickr.

You're either trolling, or you just got your first AOL disc in the mail yesterday.

[cray101]

Thanks a lot for the answers, so we have established that it isn't possible to avoid download... are there any possibilities for making the task a little difficult? especially on your website/blog?

I have my concerns with watermarking, if it is too obvious, it tends to distract too much, and if it is unobtrusively stuck in a corner, then it may just get cropped out...

[cray101]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

You're either trolling, or you just got your first AOL disc in the mail yesterday.

Very witty Osmosis. I was referring to a very recent addition to fb that enables users to "Download Hi-Res Image". And obviously, the owner of the photograph, doesn't have access to any statistics on who's doing it.