VSThiran

PDF & Files

Free PDF Watermark Tool

Free to useNo sign-up requiredNo watermarkRuns in your browser

This free tool stamps text across the pages of a PDF — DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, a company name, a date, whatever the document needs. You control the size, the angle, how faint it is, where it sits, and which pages get it.

A watermark is a visible mark, not a protection mechanism. Anyone with a PDF editor can take it off again. What it is good for is making it obvious at a glance that a copy is a draft, an internal version or not for circulation.

How this tool works

  1. Open your PDF

    Drag it in or browse for it. It is read on your device.

  2. Type the text

    Anything up to sixty characters. The preview updates as you type.

  3. Set how it looks

    Position, colour, size, opacity and angle. Tiled repeats the text across the whole page; the corner positions place it once.

  4. Choose the pages and apply

    Every page by default, or a range. Applying writes the mark into the document, ready to download or to carry into another tool.

How it works

The text is drawn into each page's content stream by pdf-lib, in your browser. It becomes part of the page in the same way the rest of the text is, which is why it prints and survives being emailed.

Opacity is a real PDF transparency setting rather than a pale colour, so the page underneath stays readable through it.

The preview is an approximation drawn over the first page's thumbnail, not a re-render of the finished file. Producing a true preview would mean writing and re-rendering the whole PDF on every keystroke, which takes seconds on a large document. Position, size, angle and opacity are accurate; tiling is shown as a single mark.

The built-in PDF fonts are WinAnsi-encoded, which covers Latin letters, digits and common punctuation. Characters outside that set cannot be drawn, and the tool says so while you type rather than failing when you apply.

What a watermark does and does not do

  • It does: make a draft or an internal copy obviously identifiable, on screen and in print.
  • It does: carry through email, printing and most conversions, because it is part of the page.
  • It does not: stop anyone copying, printing or editing the document.
  • It does not: survive someone opening the file in a PDF editor and deleting the text.
  • It does not: encrypt or password-protect anything.

Frequently asked questions

Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is opened and changed by this page on your own device, using your browser. It is never sent to VSThiran and no copy is stored on any server. It is held only in the tab you have open, which is also why reloading the page clears it.

Can someone remove the watermark?

Yes. It is drawn into the page like any other text, so a PDF editor can select and delete it. Treat it as a label rather than as security. Nothing in a PDF that is visible on the page can be made permanent.

Can I use an image or a logo as the watermark?

Not at the moment — this tool stamps text only. If you need a logo on every page, the signature tool will place an image on one page at a time, though it is not designed for bulk stamping.

Why can it not draw my text?

The fonts built into the PDF format cover the Latin alphabet, digits and common punctuation. Text in other scripts needs a font embedded into the file, which this tool does not do. The interface warns you as you type rather than after you apply.

Can I use another PDF tool on the result without downloading it first?

Yes. Once a PDF is open, the other PDF tools pick it up as it currently stands, so you can organise, watermark, number, sign and compress a document from a single upload and download once at the end. Conversions to Word, Excel or images produce a different kind of file, so those finish the sequence rather than continuing it.

Guides for this tool

How to stamp DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL across a PDF

Need every page to clearly show DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL or a company name? Add a watermark in your browser with VSThiran - set the size, angle and opacity, then download.

Sign a PDF without printing it

Need to sign a document but don't want to print, sign and scan it? Draw or type your signature in VSThiran, place it on the page and download the signed PDF.

How to number the pages of a PDF

Need page numbers on a report, thesis or submission? Pick a format and position, choose where numbering starts - even skipping a cover page - then download, free in your browser.

Wrong title in a PDF's browser tab? Fix its metadata

PDF opening with the wrong title in the browser tab, or need to remove an author's name before sharing? Edit or clear the file's metadata directly in your browser.