Image copyright for Wix and Squarespace site owners

Wix and Squarespace site owners are just as exposed to copyright demand letters as WordPress or custom-coded site owners. The platform handles your hosting and design tools, but it does not shield you from liability for images you added to your site. Any image you did not create yourself, use through a properly licensed integration, or obtain a clear license for is a potential copyright risk.

Why platform users assume they are protected (and why they are not)

Both Wix and Squarespace offer built-in stock image galleries, typically powered by Unsplash integrations or partnerships with agencies like Getty. This convenience leads many users to believe that any image accessible through their platform editor is automatically safe to use. That assumption is only partially correct.

Images accessed through a paid plan's integrated Unsplash gallery or through a Wix Premium stock partnership may be covered under a platform-level license. However, that license often has scope limitations, and images you source separately (from Google Images, Pinterest, a third-party blog, or a supplier's website) fall entirely outside platform protection.

Additionally, users sometimes confuse "I found this image in the Wix editor's search results" with "Wix has licensed this image for me." The Wix Image Library and Wix's Unsplash integration cover images accessed directly through those integrations. An image you screenshot from a website and upload to your Wix media library carries its original copyright regardless of where it now sits.

Which images on your site are actually safe

Images from the platform's licensed integrations

Images added directly through Wix's official Unsplash integration or Squarespace's Getty Images partnership (available on certain plan tiers) are generally covered by a platform license. Confirm which integrations your specific plan includes by checking your account settings.

Images you own

Photos you took yourself, graphics you designed from original elements, and custom illustrations you commissioned (with a proper work-for-hire or license agreement) are safe to use.

Images licensed by you separately

If you purchased a license from Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Getty, or another agency and downloaded the image for your site, that license covers your use, provided you stay within the scope of what you licensed (check for web use, commercial use, and print use restrictions).

Images from free stock platforms (with documentation)

Images downloaded from Unsplash, Pexels, or Pixabay under their respective licenses are generally safe for commercial website use, with some restrictions (you cannot sell the unmodified photo as a standalone product). Keep a record of where and when you downloaded each image.

Common ways Wix and Squarespace users introduce copyright risk

Copying images from other websites. Right-clicking and saving an image from a competitor's site, a blog post, or a news article is one of the highest-risk actions you can take. Images on other websites are copyrighted by default, regardless of whether a copyright notice is visible.

Using Google Images search results. Google Images indexes images from across the web, including stock agency content, individual photographers' work, and news media photos. Appearing in Google Images results grants no license to use the image on your site.

Repurposing supplier or manufacturer images. If you run an e-commerce site on Squarespace and display product photos provided by your supplier, those images may have originated from a stock agency. The supplier may not have licensed them for transfer, and you could be directly liable for their presence on your site.

Using images from social media. Screenshots or downloads from Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest posts are copyrighted by the original creator. Using them without permission is infringement regardless of how widely the image has been shared.

Outdated images in archive pages. Images you added to your site years ago may still be publicly accessible on old blog posts or portfolio pages even if you have not updated them recently. Enforcement crawlers index these pages along with your current content.

How to audit your Wix or Squarespace site

Unlike WordPress, Wix and Squarespace do not offer a plugin ecosystem for bulk media library scanning. Manual or external auditing is required.

A practical audit approach:

1. Use your platform's media manager to list every image in your site's media library. Export or screenshot the full list.
2. For each image, trace its origin: did you create it, license it, or download it from a known-safe source with a documented record?
3. For images whose origin you cannot confirm, use PixGuard's copyright risk scanner to check for stock agency fingerprints, watermark signals, and metadata clues. PixGuard can scan individual images you upload or analyze a page URL to check images loaded on that page.
4. Replace any images that PixGuard flags as higher risk with images you own or have a documented license for.
5. Do not forget images embedded in blog posts, portfolio pages, team bio sections, and header or footer areas, which are frequently overlooked in audits.

What happens if enforcement firms find an image on your site

Enforcement firms like Higbee and Associates and PicRights do not distinguish between WordPress sites and Wix or Squarespace sites. Their automated crawlers visit any publicly accessible URL. A perceptual hash match flags the image for review regardless of which platform generated the page.

After a match is confirmed, the enforcement process is the same as for any other website: a demand letter is generated requesting retroactive licensing fees. The demand is addressed to you as the site owner, not to Wix or Squarespace. The platform has no obligation to indemnify you for copyright infringement committed through content you added.

Under 17 U.S.C. 504, statutory damages for copyright infringement range from 750 to 30,000 dollars per infringing work. Willful infringement can reach 150,000 dollars per work. Even a single image claim can result in a settlement demand of several thousand dollars.

What to do if your site has already been flagged

If you receive a demand letter:

1. Remove the flagged image immediately and document when you removed it.
2. Preserve evidence of where you obtained the image, including any download records, browser history, or integration logs from your platform.
3. Do not ignore the letter. Respond in writing, acknowledge receipt, and state you are reviewing the matter.
4. Assess whether the claim is from a legitimate rights holder with documented enforcement authority.
5. If the demand is substantial, consult an intellectual property attorney before responding substantively or paying.

For a practical first step alongside managing the legal matter, see our guide on how to replace copyrighted images safely to get your site into compliance quickly.

Comparison: image safety by source on Wix and Squarespace

Image source	Typical safety	What to check
Platform's Unsplash integration	Generally safe	Confirm the integration is active on your plan
Platform's Getty integration	Generally safe	Verify your plan tier includes Getty access
Your own photos	Safe	No special check needed
Paid stock (licensed by you)	Safe if in scope	Verify web use and commercial use permissions
Free stock (Pexels, Pixabay, Unsplash direct)	Mostly safe	Cannot sell unmodified image as a product
Google Images or Pinterest	High risk	Almost always copyrighted by default
Supplier or manufacturer photos	Variable	Confirm supplier has a transferable license
Copied from another website	High risk	Copyrighted by default

Squarespace-specific notes

Squarespace offers a Getty Images integration on certain Business and Commerce plan tiers. Images inserted through this integration are licensed for use on your Squarespace site. The license does not extend to downloading the image and using it outside of Squarespace (for print, a different website, or social media posts, for example).

Squarespace also displays Unsplash images in its image search tool within the editor. Images inserted through this tool are generally covered under the Unsplash License. Images you copy from the Unsplash website directly and upload as a file to your media library bypass this integration and should be treated as a separate download (still safe under the Unsplash License, but keep a record).

Wix-specific notes

Wix offers access to Unsplash and Shutterstock images through its editor. Shutterstock images in the Wix editor are part of a partnership: access is included in certain Wix premium plans. If your plan does not include the Shutterstock partnership, those images may require a separate Shutterstock license.

Wix's free image library and the images available in the Wix editor's built-in search draw from different sources depending on your plan. When in doubt, hover over or click the image in the editor to confirm which library it is coming from before using it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Wix or Squarespace protect me from copyright claims? No. The platform hosts your site but does not indemnify you for content you add. You are responsible for ensuring all images you use are properly licensed.

Are all images in the Wix media library safe to use? Not necessarily. The Wix media library holds images you uploaded. If you uploaded an image from an unlicensed source, it sits in your library without any change to its copyright status.

Can I use images from Wix's built-in free image search? Wix's built-in image search pulls from Unsplash and other sources via an integration. Images added through this tool are generally covered, but verify that the integration is active on your plan and that you are using the in-editor integration rather than manually copying image URLs from external sites.

How does PixGuard work for sites built on Wix or Squarespace? PixGuard can scan individual image files you upload or analyze a page URL to check images loaded on that page. It looks for stock agency fingerprint matches, EXIF metadata from known agencies, and watermark signals. It does not require integration with your platform and works with any publicly accessible web page.

What if I used a Canva design with stock images on my Squarespace site? Canva licenses its built-in elements (photos, illustrations, icons) for use in designs you create and publish. Using a Canva-created image on your Squarespace site is generally covered by Canva's Content License, but the license has scope restrictions. Some elements cannot be used on merchandise, and some require attribution. Review Canva's license terms for the specific elements included in your design.

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Your platform does not audit your images for copyright risk. Run a free scan at PixGuard to identify images on your Wix or Squarespace site that may carry stock agency fingerprints or watermark signals before a demand letter arrives.