How to remove the watermark from the photo on Xiaomi: from standard functions to advanced tools

Watermarks in photos from Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones are a standard feature that the manufacturer adds to protect copyright. However, not all users like it when the brand logo or model name is displayed on the photos, especially if you want to share a frame on social networks, print a photo or use it for professional purposes.

In this article, we will look at all possible ways to remove watermarks, from the official camera settings to advanced editing techniques. It is important to understand that some methods may affect image quality or require additional skills. We will also explain how to disable automatic watermarking in new photos so that the problem does not arise in the future.

Why does Xiaomi add watermarks to the photo?

The manufacturer argues this for several reasons:

• 📌 Copyright protection – watermark confirms that the photo was taken on a Xiaomi device, and prevents illegal use of the images.
• 📱 Marketing move – the brand logo in photos in social networks serves as free advertising.
• 🔍 Authentication – in some regions (e.g. China) watermarks help fight fraud in the sale of used equipment.

On most models (Mi 11, Redmi Note 10 Pro, Poco X3 Pro and later), the watermark is added automatically in text or logo format at one of the corners of the frame. In older devices (until 2019), this feature may not be available or only be enabled manually.

⚠️ Note: Removing watermarks from photos taken on someone else's device may violate the terms of use of some services (e.g. stock photo banks.

Method 1: Disabling watermarks in camera settings

The easiest and safest method is to prevent the camera from adding watermarks to new photos, which won't help with the pictures you've taken, but it will get rid of the problem in the future.

Instructions for MIUI 12/13/14:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Touch the badge. ⚙️ Settings (or swipe from the right edge of the screen).
3. Go to the Watermark (or Watermark Settings) section.
4. Turn off the switch Add watermark.
5. Save the changes.

On some models (Poco F3, Redmi Note 11) the path may be different:

Camera → ⚙️ → Additional settings → Watermark → Off.

Take a test shot.

Enlarge the photo and check the angles for logo

Restart your phone (sometimes settings are reset)

Repeat the picture in different modes (main camera, selfie, night mode)-->

If your version of MIUI doesn’t have a separate watermark, try updating the Camera app via Google Play or App Gallery, which may not be available on custom firmware devices like LineageOS.

Method 2: Cutting a photo (crop) through a standard editor

If the watermark is located in the corner and does not cover important details of the frame, it can be simply cropped using the built-in Xiaomi editor.This method does not require the installation of additional applications and takes less than a minute.

How to trim a watermark:

1. Open the photo in the Gallery app.
2. Click Edit (pencil icon).
3. Select the Trimming tool (frame icon).
4. Reduce the area of the frame so that the watermark is outside it.
5. Save the changes (Ready or Save as a copy).

⚠️ Attention: When you crop a photo, it loses some of its pixels, which can make it worse when you print or zoom in. If the watermark is in the center, this method won't work, you'll have to use more sophisticated tools.

Photocut | Photoshop |Special apps |Switching off in camera settings |I haven't tried anything-->

Method 3: Removing watermarks using applications

If the watermark is in the center of the frame or can't be cut without losing important details, specialized apps will come to the rescue, and we tested some popular tools and selected the ones that work best with Xiaomi photos.

Top.-3 watermarker:

• 📱 Snapseed (from Google) is a free editor with a Healing tool that can remove small watermarks without a trace.
• 🖼️ Adobe Photoshop Express is a simplified version of Photoshop with Spot Heal function. It copes well with signs in a photo with a simple background (sky, wall, asphalt).
• 🎨 Remove Watermark (from InShot) is a specialized watermark removal app that has automatic mode and hand tools for precision retouching.

Step-by-step instructions for Snapseed:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Open the photo and select the Healing tool (the patch icon).
3. Increase the scale and carefully circle the watermark with your finger.
4. Snapseed will automatically replace the allocated area with pixels from the surrounding background.
5. Keep the result in high resolution.

For complex cases (such as a watermark on a portrait or landscape with fine details), it is better to use full Photoshop on a PC. In the mobile version, the tools are limited, and the result may look unnatural.

Method 4: Using Online Services

If you don't want to install apps or work on a computer, you can use online watermark removal services, which are convenient because they don't require registration and work directly in the browser.

The best online tools:

• 🌐 Inpaint Online (theinpaint.com) – upload a photo, highlight a watermark with a marker, the service automatically restores the background.
• 🌐 WatermarkRemover.io (watermarkremover.io) – a specialized service with batch processing support.
• 🌐 Fotor (fotor.com) – an online photo editor with the tool Removal of objects.

Advantages of online services:

• ✅ You don't have to download anything.
• ✅ Support formats JPEG, PNG, WEBP.
• ✅ Some services (such as Inpaint) offer a free trial.

⚠️ Note: When you upload photos to online services, you are transferring them to third-party companies for processing. If there is confidential information (documents, people's faces), it is better to use offline editors.

💡

Before uploading a photo to an online service, reduce its resolution to 2-3 MP (for example, through Lightroom Mobile), which will speed up processing and reduce the risk of leakage of the original.

Method 5: Manual editing in Photoshop (for advanced users)

If the watermark is complex (e.g., translucent or shadowy), and the background below it is heterogeneous, you will have to use manual retouching in Photoshop, which requires skills in working with graphic editors, but gives the best quality result.

Algorithm of action:

1. Open the photo in Adobe Photoshop.
2. Create a new layer (Ctrl+Shift+N).
3. Choose the tool patch (J) or the Recovery brush (E).
4. Holding Alt, click on the clean area of the background next to the watermark (this will set the source for cloning).
5. Carefully paint over the watermark, selecting the texture of the background.
6. For difficult areas, use the Tool "Pinpoint Recovery Hand" with a small radius.
7. Plug the layers (Ctrl+E) and save the result in PNG format (without loss of quality).

For translucent watermarks (for example, in the photo with Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra):

• Add the Color Tone/Saturation Corrective layer and reduce the saturation of blue/red (depending on the color of the sign).
• Apply Gauss Blurr to the watermarked layer to smooth out the edges.

💡

For a realistic result, use multiple sources of cloning (take pixels from different parts of the background) to avoid repetitive patterns.

Method 6: Camera flashing (for power users)

If you need to remove watermarks completely at the system level, you can replace the standard Camera application with a modified version (for example, Google Camera or custom firmware from XDA Developers), this method is only suitable for advanced users, as it requires unlocking the bootloader and can lead to loss of warranty.

Step-by-step:

1. Unlock the bootloader on your Xiaomi through the official Mi Unlock website.
2. Install custom recovery (TWRP or OrangeFox).
3. Download a modified version of Google Camera (e.g., BSG GCam or Arnova8G2).
4. Install. APK-file-through TWRP manually.
5. In GCam settings, turn off the Watermark option (if any).

⚠️ Note: Installing unofficial firmware can cause the camera to work unstable (e.g., green in the photo or autofocus errors). TWRP.

Method 7: Automating Deletion with Scripts (for developers)

If you need to process a large number of photos (for example, an archive of images over several years), you can write a script in Python using the OpenCV library. This method requires programming knowledge, but allows you to remove watermarks batchwise.

Example of a script to remove a text watermark (e.g. Shot on Redmi Note 9 Pro):

import cv2


import numpy as np




Image uploading



image = cv2.imread('photo.jpg')




Coordinates of watermark (x1, y1, x2, y2)



watermark_area = (100, 100, 300, 150)




Cloning of a neighbouring section of background



x1, y1, x2, y2 = watermark_area




patch = image[y1:y2, x1-50:x1] # Take the area to the left of the sign




image[y1:y2, x1:x2] = patch




Preservation of the result



cv2.imwrite('photo_no_watermark.jpg', image)

For more complex cases, you can use:

• 📊 Method of inpainting (cv2.inpaint()) — Automatically restores the background under the watermark.
• 🎭 Neural networks (such as Samsung’s LaMa) – remove objects with high accuracy.

Solutions ready:

• 🐍 GitHub-repository watermark-remover — scripts for batch processing (link).
• 🤖 Bots on Telegram (for example, @RemoveWatermarkBot) — upload a photo and get the result without a watermark.

Frequently asked questions