Annotate PDF
Mark up any PDF right in your browser. Highlight, underline, strike through, or squiggle text, add comments, links, shapes, arrows, freehand notes, whiteout, image stamps, and signatures, then save a clean file. Your PDF never leaves your device.
100% private. Your files are processed entirely in your browser and never uploaded.
Why annotate with frisqoo
100% private
Your PDF is opened and marked up inside your browser. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
A full markup kit
Highlight, underline, strike through, or squiggle text, plus a pencil, shapes, arrows, checkmarks, and whiteout.
Comments & links
Drop sticky-note comments for review and add clickable links right on the page.
Sign & stamp
Draw a signature or initials and place an image such as a logo, then reuse them.
Text stays selectable
Marks are added as crisp vector content, so the original text stays searchable.
Any device
Runs in any modern browser on phone, tablet, or computer. Nothing to install.
How to annotate a PDF
- Add your PDF by dropping it in the box above, or tap to browse.
- Choose a tool from the toolbar. Type text, sketch freehand, use Markup to highlight, underline, strike through, or squiggle text, add a box, ellipse, line, or arrow, drop a Comment, add a Link, place an Image, sign, or use Whiteout. Pick a color and size, and drag to move or resize anything you add.
- Tap Save and download to get an annotated PDF. Your marks are baked in as sharp vector content and the original text stays selectable.
Everything runs on your device, so it is fast and your document stays private, even with no internet once the page has loaded.
Everything you can add
- Text boxes anywhere on the page
- Freehand pencil and a color highlighter
- Highlight, underline, strike through, or squiggle selected text
- Shapes: rectangle, ellipse, line, arrow, checkmark, cross
- Sticky-note comments for review and feedback
- Clickable links to a web address
- Image stamps such as a logo or a photo of your signature
- A drawn signature or initials, saved for reuse
- Whiteout to cover content visually before printing
- Keyboard shortcuts for every tool (press ? for the list)
- Editing the document's real text (use Edit PDF)
- Permanently removing content (use Redact PDF)
Comment and link for real review work
Most review work is about comments, not drawings. Open Insert → Comment to drop a sticky-note pin anywhere and leave a question, an approval, or a change request without touching the underlying document. Open Insert → Link to add a clickable web link on the page, so a reader can jump straight to a reference or a form. Both are baked into the saved PDF and work in any viewer.
Sign and initial without printing
Open Sign, draw your signature or initials once with a mouse, trackpad, or finger, and drop them onto the page. Your signature is remembered for the session, so you can reuse it across several pages or files without redrawing. Because it happens in your browser, a contract you sign here is never uploaded anywhere. For a workflow built entirely around signing, the dedicated Sign PDF tool runs on the same engine.
Keyboard shortcuts
Every tool has a shortcut, so you can work without hunting through the toolbar. Single keys pick a tool: H for hand, V for select, T for text, P for the pencil, and B for the highlighter. Insert tools have their own keys too: C for a comment, K for a link, I for an image, and W for whiteout. The text markup tools use Shift with a letter: Shift plus H to highlight, Shift plus U to underline, Shift plus S to strike through, and Shift plus Q to squiggle. Press the ? key at any time, or the Shortcuts button in the side rail, to see the full list.
Annotate vs Edit PDF: which should you use?
They share the same editor but are tuned for different jobs. Annotate PDF is the light, fast choice for marking up: text, comments, links, text highlights, underlines and strikethroughs, shapes, a signature, and image stamps. Edit PDF adds document-level changes: editing the real text, find and replace, forms, watermarks, page numbers, crop, and reordering or inserting pages. Start with Annotate for markup, and use Edit PDF when you need to change the document itself.
Whiteout vs Redact: cover vs remove
These look similar but do very different things. Whiteout lays an opaque block over an area so it disappears on screen and in print, but the original content is still inside the file and can be recovered. That is fine for tidying up a page, and dangerous for anything sensitive. To truly remove a name, number, or image so it cannot be extracted, use the Redact PDF tool, which deletes the content and strips it from the file. For anything sensitive, use Redact rather than whiteout.
Private and free, with no upload
Most online annotators send your file to a server, make you wait for an upload and a download, and put the useful tools behind a subscription. This one does everything inside your browser, so there is no upload and no waiting. It is free with no watermark and no page limits, which makes it a safe, fast choice for contracts, IDs, and anything confidential.
Common ways people use Annotate PDF
- Reviewing a contract and leaving sticky-note comments for changes.
- Highlighting key lines and circling figures in a report.
- Signing and initialing a document, then sending it straight back.
- Adding a clickable link to a form or reference on a shared PDF.
- Stamping a logo and a few notes onto a proposal before sharing.
FAQs about Annotate PDF
Do my files get uploaded?
No. Your PDF is opened and annotated right here on your own device, inside the browser. It never leaves your computer, so nothing private is sent anywhere. Close the tab and nothing is left behind.
What can I add to my PDF?
Type text anywhere; draw freehand with a pencil or highlighter; add rectangles, ellipses, lines, arrows, checkmarks, and crosses; drop sticky-note comments; add clickable links; place an image such as a logo; sign or initial; and use Whiteout to cover content visually. Move, resize, recolor, or delete anything before you save.
Can I add sticky-note comments?
Yes. Open Insert → Comment and click anywhere on the page to drop a note pin. It is perfect for review and feedback. Leave questions, approvals, or change requests without altering the document itself.
Can I add clickable links?
Yes. Open Insert → Link and click or drag where you want the link, then point it at a web address. The link becomes clickable in the saved PDF, so readers can jump straight to a page.
Does the original text stay selectable?
Yes. Annotations are drawn as real vector content on top of your pages, so the PDF stays crisp and the underlying text is still selectable and searchable.
Can I highlight, underline, strike through, or squiggle existing text?
Yes. Open the Markup tool, choose Highlight, Underline, Strikethrough, or Squiggle, then drag across the words you want. It snaps to the real text on the page, so the mark tracks the line cleanly. This works on PDFs that have a text layer; if your file is a scan or a photo, run OCR PDF first to add a text layer, then mark it up. A freehand Highlighter brush is also there for emphasizing anything that is not text.
Can I sign or initial the PDF?
Yes. Open Sign, draw a signature or initials once, and place them on the page. Your signature is remembered for the session so you can reuse it. For a workflow built entirely around signing, the dedicated Sign PDF tool uses the same engine.
What is the difference between Whiteout and Redact?
Whiteout visually covers an area. It is great for hiding a blemish before printing, but the content underneath still exists in the file. To permanently remove text or images so they cannot be recovered, use the Redact PDF tool, which truly deletes the content and strips it from the file.
When should I use Edit PDF instead?
Use Edit PDF when you need to change the document itself: edit the real text, find and replace, fill or build form fields, add a watermark or page numbers, crop, or reorder and insert pages. Annotate is the light, fast choice for marking up; Edit PDF is the full workshop. They share the same private, in-browser engine.
Can I change the color or size, and undo?
Yes. Pick a color and a line or text size from the toolbar before you draw, or select something you already added and restyle it. Undo and redo are unlimited, and Clear all lets you start over.
Are there keyboard shortcuts?
Yes. Every tool has a shortcut. Single keys pick a tool, such as P for the pencil or T for text, and the text markup tools use Shift with a letter: Shift plus H to highlight, Shift plus U to underline, Shift plus S to strike through, and Shift plus Q to squiggle. Press the ? key at any time, or the Shortcuts button in the side rail, to see the full list.
Will it work on a phone?
Yes. The editor is touch friendly, so you can type, draw, highlight, comment, and sign on a phone or tablet just as easily as on a desktop.
Is it free?
Yes. Annotate as many PDFs as you want, with no sign-up and no watermarks.