Capture settings

Capture settings are the evidence rules applied to every photo, video, and audio clip: timestamping, GPS metadata, proxy requirements, and watermarks.

Where capture settings live

Capture settings exist at two levels:

• Team defaults: set on the team detail page under Settings, labeled "Default capture settings".
• Per-assignment overrides: set on the assignment's Settings tab.

Both levels use the same editor. The Settings page also has a Capture settings by team card summarizing watermark and GPS status per team with links into each team.

Snapshot semantics

Capture settings are snapshotted onto each assignment at creation. The team Settings tab says it plainly: "These defaults are snapshotted onto each assignment at creation, so editing them never changes historical evidence."

In practice:

• Changing team defaults affects only assignments created after the change.
• Editing an assignment's own settings changes only that assignment.
• Two assignments from the same team can have different settings if the defaults changed between their creation dates.

Every option, with defaults

Timestamping

Default: on. Every capture records the exact time it was taken. Timestamps are the foundation of the audit trail and appear in the media metadata sidebar. Leave this on unless you have a specific reason not to.

GPS metadata

Default: on. Every capture records where it was taken, provided the field user has granted location permission on their device.

What field users see: the camera shows a "GPS on" indicator when location is flowing. If the device has not granted location permission, captures still work but carry no coordinates, and Mission Control's map shows "No GPS" for that adjuster. See Dashboards and Mission Control.

Require proxy

Default: on. A compressed copy (the "proxy") must be generated and uploaded before an item counts as ready. Proxies are what make the console's media grid and lightbox fast, since reviewers open the lightweight copy instead of multi-megabyte originals.

The original master file is always kept regardless of this setting. Require proxy only controls whether an item is considered complete for review before its proxy exists.

Watermark

Default: off. When enabled, a visible watermark is burned into review copies of captures. Watermarks are typically required by carriers for chain-of-custody documentation.

When the watermark is enabled, these sub-options appear:

Option	Default	Meaning
Time	on	Burn the capture timestamp into the image.
User	on	Burn the capturer's name into the image.
Location	off	Burn GPS coordinates into the image.
Assignment	off	Burn the assignment name or reference into the image.
Custom text	empty	Free text of up to 120 characters, for example a claim number.
Logo URL	empty	An image URL for a logo to include in the watermark.
Logo position	bottom right	Where the logo sits: any corner or center.
Text position	bottom left	Where the text sits: any corner or center.
Opacity	0.85	How strong the watermark appears, from 0 (invisible) to 1 (fully solid).

Burned-in watermarks and clean originals

The watermark is burned into review copies only. The original master file is always stored clean, with no watermark. This means:

• Reviewers in the console see the watermarked copy by default, which is what carriers usually want to see.
• Anyone reviewing media can toggle "Hide watermark (view clean original)" in the lightbox to inspect the untouched master. See Submissions and media.
• The Download original button always delivers the clean master file.

You never lose the unmarked evidence by turning watermarks on.

Guidance

When to enable watermarks:

• A carrier contract requires visible timestamp or identity marks on photos.
• Media will be shared outside your organization and you want provenance visible in every copy.
• Disputed claims where chain-of-custody questions are likely.

When to leave them off:

• Internal-only documentation where the audit log and metadata already provide provenance.
• Workflows where adjusters or clients need clean images for reports.

Recommended defaults for most teams: keep timestamping, GPS, and require proxy on, and leave the watermark off unless a carrier asks for it. When a carrier does ask, enable Time and User (both already on by default), add the claim number as custom text, and consider Location on for catastrophe work where the exact capture site matters.