About VISID
Turning images into discoverable, verifiable, data-rich assets.
Most images online contain little to no meaningful metadata. Nearly 80% have missing or stripped fields. In a world driven by algorithms and search systems, this leaves most visuals essentially invisible.
VISID exists to change that.
We make it easy to enrich finalized imagery with structured, machine-readable metadata so creators, studios, and brands can preserve authorship, add context, and improve discoverability wherever metadata is retained.
Our Mission
Images today move through an internet where metadata is inconsistent, often missing, and sometimes lost entirely. Creators want their work to be discoverable, attributable, and understandable but manually adding metadata is tedious and rarely done at scale.
VISID's mission is to make this process easy, affordable, and intelligent.
We provide a system that:
- ✓enriches images with structured metadata
- ✓adds clear titles, descriptions, keywords, rights, and provenance
- ✓gives each file a stable, verifiable identity
- ✓improves discoverability wherever metadata remains intact
- ✓helps visuals retain meaning across platforms and workflows
We're not promising metadata immortality.
We offer something more practical:
A fast, automated, standardized way to make your images smarter before they go out into the world.
VISID embeds authorship, meaning, and clarity directly into the file, increasing the likelihood that your work remains findable and understood wherever it travels.
Why VISID Exists
1. Most images vanish into the algorithmic void.
Search engines and AI systems rely on metadata to understand visual content yet most images don't have any. Platforms often strip EXIF/IPTC/XMP, and CGI or AI-generated images usually contain none to begin with. VISID enriches images upfront, increasing the chance they are understood and discoverable where metadata is preserved.
2. Text has SEO. Images never got the same treatment.
Written content has decades of SEO tools and standards; imagery does not. VISID fills this gap by giving images structured intelligence that helps them perform better in data-driven systems.
3. Authorship and context disappear quickly.
Once an image is exported or shared, details about who created it, how it should be used, or what it represents often vanish. VISID ensures images start their life with consistent, machine-readable context.
4. Creators need a simple, modern way to declare AI usage preferences.
There's no universal method for indicating whether an image can be used for AI training or derivative work. VISID adds clear, embedded permissions not enforcement, but a structured signal for systems that respect it.
How VISID Works
VISID is a three-part system:
1. View
Extract and display existing EXIF, IPTC, and XMP metadata. See what's present, what's missing, and what machines currently interpret.
2. Stamp
Enrich images with AI-generated metadata aligned to the VISID Standard: titles, descriptions, keywords, creators, rights, AI permissions, and a VISID fingerprint. Metadata is added non-destructively we preserve what's already there.
3. Verify
Stamped images carry a verifiable identity. Downstream systems can confirm authorship, usage details, metadata changes, and whether the file matches its content hash.
The VISID Fingerprint
Each stamped image receives a compact identifier made of:
Date / Channel Block → Content Hash → Metadata Hash
Example:
25A11ADate / Channel Block
Encodes when the image was stamped:
- 25 → 2025
- A → century (2000s)
- 11 → November
- A → batch/day slot
f5c29a1b9c7eContent Hash
Represents the pixel data. It changes only when the image itself changes.
9ab833e01d42Metadata Hash
Represents the metadata payload. It changes when titles, descriptions, rights, or permissions change.
Together, these create a stable, lightweight visual identity suitable for verification, version tracking, and rehydration workflows.
The VISID Standard
VISID is an open specification for embedding structured metadata using industry-standard XMP fields. It ensures interoperability while remaining compatible with existing ecosystems.
The standard enables:
- •consistent metadata across tools
- •privacy-respecting attribution
- •ethical AI-usage declarations
- •version-aware identity tracking
- •long-term discoverability
- •predictable parsing by automated systems
VISID doesn't replace metadata it unlocks it.
Metadata Namespaces Used
VISID writes to the following metadata namespaces:
EXIF
titles, descriptions, keywords, artist, copyright, ImageUniqueID
IPTC
legacy keyword support
XMP Dublin Core (dc)
titles, descriptions, subjects, identifiers, creators, rights
XMP Core (xmp)
CreatorTool ("VISID 1.1"), rating
XMP Media Management (xmpMM)
DocumentID (work), InstanceID (version)
XMP Rights (xmpRights)
rights and usage URLs
Lightroom (lr)
hierarchical subject tags
VISID namespace (visid:)
fingerprint, hashes, permissions, provenance, trend profile, user tags, timestamps
Who VISID Is For and Why
1. Photographers
Preserves authorship and rights while enriching images with structured metadata that increases clarity and attribution.
2. Stock Photography Contributors
Better metadata improves ranking and royalties. VISID provides consistent titles, keywords, and descriptions at scale.
3. Brands & eCommerce Teams
Turns product imagery into structured, searchable assets with consistent metadata that improves visibility and sales performance.
4. CGI / 3D Visualization Studios
Adds missing metadata, context, and version tracking to renders that normally ship with none.
5. Designers
Keeps multi-format deliverables organized with consistent descriptions, rights, and tags across platforms.
6. Publishers & Archivists
Embeds rights, provenance, and version identifiers directly into assets for long-term clarity.
7. Developers & Platforms
Provides a clean, predictable metadata standard with deterministic hashes and a dedicated XMP namespace.
8. Families & Personal Photo Libraries
Adds names, keywords, and context to decades of images, making personal archives more understandable and searchable.
What VISID Is Not
It's important to understand what VISID can't guarantee.
We built VISID to make images smarter and more understandable not to rewrite how platforms or the internet behave.
VISID is not DRM.
It does not lock files, prevent copying, or restrict downloads. VISID is about clarity not control.
VISID does not guarantee metadata survival.
Many social networks, chat apps, and walled gardens strip metadata. VISID improves visibility where metadata is preserved, but it cannot stop platforms from removing it.
VISID does not police stolen images or enforce ownership.
We don't track the internet for misuse, arbitrate disputes, or issue takedowns. VISID provides identity and structure not policing.
VISID is not a blockchain or immutable system.
No tokens, no NFTs, no on-chain storage. It's a practical, real-world fingerprint not a speculative asset.
VISID doesn't enforce rights or AI permissions.
It embeds clear, machine-readable signals, but cannot force compliance. It communicates intent systems choose whether to respect it.
VISID doesn't guarantee SEO results.
Metadata improves discoverability where platforms use metadata but ranking ultimately depends on the platform's algorithms.
VISID is not a new file format.
Your images remain standard JPEG/PNG/etc. VISID simply writes structured metadata using existing, interoperable standards.