Annotate PDF
Open a PDF right in your browser, read it, highlight text and drop comments anywhere. Reopen a commented PDF later to review, edit or add more. Nothing is ever uploaded.
How to view and comment on a PDF
- Choose a PDF — it opens in the viewer below.
- Type your name (it's remembered on this device), then use Highlight to mark text or Comment to drop a note anywhere.
- Click any highlight or note to edit or delete it, then download the commented PDF — comments open as notes in Adobe and other readers.
What you write is more personal than the document
Reviewing a contract, marking up a draft, correcting someone's work: the notes say what you think, which is often more sensitive than the file itself. On an online annotation service both the document and your opinion of it are uploaded.
Real annotations, not a picture of them
Highlights and notes are saved as PDF annotations, the same kind Acrobat, Preview and Edge write. Whoever opens the file can read them, reply to them, move them or delete them, and annotations already in the file are shown to you, so you can carry on somebody else's review instead of starting again.
Limits
Annotations sit on top of the page and never change the text underneath. On a scanned page with no text layer a highlight follows the area you drag rather than the words; run OCR PDF first if you want to select text. To take something out of the page instead of commenting on it, use Redact PDF.
Can others open and edit the comments?
Yes. Comments and highlights are saved as standard PDF annotations, so they open as notes in Adobe Acrobat, Preview and most readers. If you reopen a commented PDF in this viewer, every comment shows up again and anyone can edit, delete or add more. Your name is stored only on your own device (a local setting), and the PDF itself is never uploaded.
Is it private?
Yes. Everything runs inside your web browser, using your own device. Nothing is uploaded to any server, so your documents stay completely private. How does this work without uploading?
Frequently asked questions
Is it free and private?
Yes. The whole viewer runs in your browser — your PDF is never uploaded to any server.
Do the comments open in Adobe?
Yes. Each comment is a standard PDF text (sticky-note) annotation and each highlight is a real highlight, so they appear in Adobe Acrobat, Preview and most PDF readers, tagged with the author's name.