SmartFrame Technologies is a London-based technology company redefining the digital image standard.
Founded in 2015, SmartFrame has developed a patented image-streaming technology that changes how images are published, protected and monetised online.
Rather than relying on the traditional downloadable image file, which can be easily copied, stolen and scraped, SmartFrame streams images directly to audiences around the world. This allows content owners to retain full control of their intellectual property, see exactly where their images appear, and unlock new revenue from content they are already producing.
How it works
For decades, photographers and content creators have produced high-quality images, only to lose control of them once they appear online. SmartFrame addresses this by changing the commercial model behind image distribution.
Traditionally, publishers pay licensing fees to use images, while content owners receive a single, often modest payment. With SmartFrame, images are free for publishers to embed. The model is instead funded by high-impact, in-image advertising, and that advertising revenue is shared with both the publisher displaying the image and the content owner who created it.
The result is a model in which everyone benefits. Content owners gain ongoing monetisation, full visibility and protection against unauthorised use, including AI scraping. Publishers gain free, high-quality imagery and a new revenue stream. Advertisers gain premium, contextually relevant placements within editorial content. And audiences enjoy a richer experience through interactive features such as full-screen viewing and SmartFrame’s proprietary Hyper Zoom technology, alongside Content Credentials that verify each image’s provenance and ownership.
SmartFrame Images
In late 2025, SmartFrame launched SmartFrame Images, the world’s first free, embeddable editorial image library. Publishers can source and embed millions of high-quality images from a single platform at smartframe.com, with the library growing continuously as new content owners join and events are captured around the world by SmartFrame’s photography partners.
In March 2026, the New York Jets became the first NFL team to publish their official photography using the technology, retaining full ownership of their images while creating new commercial opportunities, and joining a growing number of leading sports organisations adopting the same model.
Trusted by leading brands
SmartFrame’s platform connects three groups: the content owners who supply imagery, the publishers who embed it, and the advertisers who fund it.
Content owners include Premier League clubs Manchester City FC, Everton FC, and Brentford FC, along with New Zealand Rugby, Six Nations Rugby and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, plus leading photo agencies such as action press international, Sipa Press, Mirrorpix, IMAGO and ZUMA Press.
Publishers using SmartFrame include Reach, The Independent, the Mirror, The Scotsman, HuffPost, National World and Planet Sport.
Previous advertisers running in-image campaigns include Volkswagen, Samsung, Sony, Puma, Toyota, EA Sports, Etihad, Revolut, IHG and the Royal Air Force, many of them returning for repeat campaigns.
A growing network
SmartFrame’s technology is backed by years of research and development and a leadership team with deep experience across the image licensing, technology, sports and advertising industries. With frictionless adoption through a WordPress plugin and integration with major publishing systems, and a steady stream of new content, publisher and advertising partnerships, SmartFrame is building the leading global image-publishing and in-image advertising networks of the future.