Question 1

What is WebWatch?

Accepted Answer

WebWatch is a technology platform built for content creators — not a stock agency, not a law firm. We scan the web to find where your images are being used, score how likely each use is a genuine unlicensed commercial infringement, and help you send a professional takedown notice, all from one place.

Question 2

Who is WebWatch for?

Accepted Answer

Any working photographer who wants to know where their images are appearing online — wedding, editorial, sports, fashion, stock — without spending hours manually reverse-image-searching every shoot.

Question 3

What is an image search?

Accepted Answer

An image search is one scan of one image using WebWatch’s image-matching technology to find where it appears online. Each upload triggers an automatic initial scan.

Question 4

What is a rescan?

Accepted Answer

A rescan is a manual re-check of an image you’ve already uploaded. It finds new matches since your last scan — useful for ongoing monitoring or checking after a story breaks.

Question 5

How accurate is the matching?

Accepted Answer

We combine advanced image-matching technology with our own similarity scoring and AI risk analysis to surface genuine commercial uses, not just anything visually similar. No automated system catches everything — some pages (social media, sites that block automated checks) can’t always be verified, and we tell you that honestly in your results rather than guessing.

Question 6

What happens when a match is wrong?

Accepted Answer

We only list a page when the web search saw your photo, or part of it, on that page, and pages it merely connects with your photo by topic are left out. Our own perceptual matching then rates every match Exact, Similar or Partial, not just “found it” — so you can tell a straight copy from a crop or a collage at a glance. You confirm or dismiss each one yourself, and you can whitelist a trusted domain (your own stock-agency listing, a licensed syndication partner) so it stops appearing at all.

Question 7

What happens if I reach my scan limit?

Accepted Answer

On the Free plan, you get a generous lifetime allowance to properly try WebWatch — no credit card, no time limit. On a paid plan, unused monthly credits refresh at the start of each billing cycle, and you’ll always be notified before you hit a limit.

Question 8

What takedown notices does WebWatch send?

Accepted Answer

WebWatch generates and sends DMCA notices (US copyright law), EU/UK Copyright notices (citing the EU's Digital Services Act, Article 16 notice-and-action mechanism and, for UK matches, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988), and direct professional emails on your behalf. WebWatch acts as your sending agent only — you remain the copyright owner and are responsible for the accuracy of your claims.

Question 9

Do I need to be a lawyer to send a takedown?

Accepted Answer

No. WebWatch drafts a professional notice for you in plain language, and you review it before anything is sent. You don’t need legal training to use it — just to be sure the image is genuinely yours. WebWatch is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Question 10

How does WebWatch find who to contact?

Accepted Answer

For most domains, WebWatch looks up the registrar and abuse contact via ICANN's official RDAP framework — a standardised, publicly regulated protocol, not a paid third-party data vendor. When a registrar's own abuse contact is available, your notice is sent there as the primary recipient (since the registrar can act on the domain directly), with the site's own contact copied in as a courtesy. That gives your notice a verified, accountable recipient rather than a guessed email address — and it's free to use, so it never affects your plan's usage limits.

Question 11

What does commission-free actually mean?

Accepted Answer

You pay a simple monthly subscription based on your needs. If a publisher settles with you for £800, all £800 is yours — WebWatch takes no commission and never pursues infringements on your behalf. We give you the clarity and tools to decide how to respond.

Question 12

Is there a free plan?

Accepted Answer

Yes. WebWatch’s free plan is permanent, not a time-boxed trial — no credit card required and no deadline to decide. You get a generous lifetime allowance across scans, rescans, AI analysis, and takedown sends, so you can properly see where your work is being used before you ever pay anything. Paid plans are built and will open after this early-access period; for now everyone starts on Free. See what the free plan includes.

Question 13

How does WebWatch pricing differ from competitors?

Accepted Answer

WebWatch is a straightforward monthly subscription — one price for a set number of scans. We never charge extra because we found a match, no matter how many sites are using your image, and there are no hidden fees for takedown notices, AI analysis, or WHOIS lookups on your plan. Compare that to services that charge per match or per action taken — a single viral image could otherwise cost you hundreds. With WebWatch, your bill stays exactly as predictable as the plan you chose.

Question 14

Can I upgrade or cancel at any time?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Upgrade, downgrade, or cancel from your account settings at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period.

Question 15

Who owns the evidence?

Accepted Answer

You do. Your images, the page captures, the URLs and the scan history belong to you, and you can export the whole set as CSV whenever you want. WebWatch never sells or shares your content.

Question 16

Is my data secure?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your images and account data are encrypted in transit and at rest, stored on enterprise-grade infrastructure (Cloudflare R2 for images, Neon Postgres for your account data), and only ever accessible from your own account. We never sell or monetise your images or your data in any way, and we never use your photos to train any AI model, ours or anyone else’s. The only reason WebWatch ever accesses an image is to run the checks you’ve asked for. Read our privacy policy.

Frequently asked questions

About WebWatch

Scanning & monitoring

Takedowns

Pricing & plans

Security & privacy