Why no website can lock your images, and what works instead

Many artists ask for the same thing: "Lock my images so nobody can take them." It is a fair wish. On an open website it is not possible, and a service that says otherwise is selling a feeling.

This page explains why, what "DRM" really means, and what protection does help.

How Bernard helps

Bernard does not lock files and does not say it does. It does the things that work on an open website, and it tells you which are live.

• Today: Bernard removes the location, camera serial number and camera owner name from every photo you upload or bring over in a move. Each photo's record card keeps who owns it and its licence, and a photo whose rights are not cleared is held back when you publish (why can't I publish this photo?). The AI traffic report in Reports shows which AI crawlers visit and ask for your images (is AI reading my site?).
• Also today: a private, untouched original of every new photo you add, kept as proof. For the photos you say are yours, your name and copyright line written into the copies Bernard stores from then on, and a "not for AI training" note while the images switch in the Protect your work panel is on (your name stays with your photos).
• Coming: a rights page for your work.
• Later: refusals to AI training crawlers, first in your robots.txt file and then at the edge of the network, and an evidence pack you can download.

What DRM means

DRM stands for "digital rights management". It usually means locking a file so it can only be opened or played by approved software. Film and music streaming services use it. Web browsers support it for video through a W3C standard called Encrypted Media Extensions.

Even there, DRM controls the file, not the screen. The picture still has to reach your eyes.

Why a picture on a web page cannot be locked

A visitor must see your picture to enjoy your site. Anything a screen can show, a person can copy:

• a screenshot takes a copy of whatever is on the screen;
• saving the page keeps every file the page loaded; and
• a phone camera can photograph the screen.

A lock strong enough to stop all three would also stop the picture appearing. So every method sold as a "lock" is something weaker.

What the common tricks really do

• Right-click blocking. It stops one menu. A screenshot still works. It annoys customers who want to save a product photo or share it with a friend.
• Invisible overlays. A clear layer over the image catches the click. The screenshot still works.
• Visible watermarks. A name across the picture deters casual copying. It also spoils the work you want people to admire, and tools can crop or paint it out.
• Low-resolution images only. A small image is less useful to a copier, and also less beautiful on a large screen. This is a fair trade for some work, such as prints you sell at full size.
• Cloaking tools such as Glaze. These change the image in small ways to confuse AI models that copy a style. The Glaze team's own FAQ says it is designed against style mimicry and does not give consistent protection against some other uses. They suit some artists. They are not a lock.

What works instead

Protection on an open website is not a wall. It is four honest things, and each one is something Bernard does for you, now or soon.

1. Say clearly whose it is. Put your name, your copyright line and your terms where software and people can read them: in the image file and on a rights page. UK law protects this rights management information against a person who knowingly removes it to help or hide an infringement. It does not stop the removal, but it can help a claim. In Bernard: the record card holds it, and your name goes into your own photos today; the rights page is coming.
2. Say no to AI training in the ways AI companies read. robots.txt, Content Signals and the image's own rights field. These are requests, and Can you stop AI companies training on your work? explains who listens. In Bernard: the "not for AI training" note goes into your own photos today while the images switch is on; the robots.txt refusal comes later.
3. Turn away the robots that say who they are. A website can refuse a crawler that announces itself as an AI training crawler. It cannot refuse one that lies. In Bernard: the AI traffic report shows them today; the refusal comes later.
4. Keep the evidence. Keep your untouched original and a dated record of it. When prevention fails, records help you act. Someone copied my work. How do I prove it is mine? explains which ones. In Bernard: the private original is kept today; the evidence pack comes later.

There is one more, and it is about you, not the picture: remove the private details in the file. Bernard does this today for every photo you add. What your photos say about you explains what a photo can give away.

When all of it is live, the honest promise is this. We say no in every way the law and the big AI companies recognise, we turn away the robots that admit who they are, and we keep the evidence. Nothing on an open website can promise that a picture will never be copied.

Your next step in Bernard

Skip the right-click blocker. Instead, ask your assistant: "Which of my photos have no owner recorded?" Then tell it whose each one is. That record is what every later protection is built on.

Bernard is an AI-assisted website and marketing platform for small businesses. He builds a new site or moves an existing one, keeps it fast and readable to search and AI tools, and looks after it. Once measuring is on, he reads your numbers each week and suggests what to do next, with a button that does it. On the Nautilus Medium and Nautilus Large plans he also plans your marketing every six weeks and drafts your posts, emails and pages. Everything lands on a draft you approve. One flat price per site.

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See what Bernard would do with your business. Already have a website? Paste its address and he measures it up, free, and shows you the new place before you decide anything. Starting from nothing? Tell him what you are building.