If the hash results are the same, the systems involved can have an appropriate degree of confidence to the integrity of the received data.
A subscriber, with knowledge of the watermark and how it is recovered, can determine (to a certain extent) whether significant changes have occurred within the data file.
Depending on the specific method used, recovery of the embedded auxiliary data can be robust to post-processing (such as lossy compression).
If the data file to be retrieved is an image, the provider can embed a watermark for protection purposes.
A disadvantage of digital watermarking is that a subscriber cannot significantly alter some files without sacrificing the quality or utility of the data.