Files never leave your device.How it works
How to add a watermark to a PDF
- 1Drop your PDF above (or click to select).
- 2Type your watermark text (or upload an image) and set opacity, angle, and layout.
- 3Click Add watermark, then download the stamped PDF.
Frequently asked questions
- Do my files get uploaded anywhere?
- No. The watermark is applied entirely in your browser — your PDF never leaves your device.
- Text or image?
- Both. Use text for a label like DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL, or upload a PNG/JPG (like a logo) as an image watermark.
- Can I make it a diagonal, tiled watermark?
- Yes. Set a rotation angle and choose the tiled layout to repeat the watermark across the whole page.
Mark a document as yours — or as a draft
A watermark says something about a document at a glance: that it's a draft, that it's confidential, that it belongs to you. HivePDF stamps a text or image watermark across every page of your PDF, right in your browser, with nothing uploaded. Ironically, the online tools that add watermarks usually stamp their own logo on your free file — here, the only watermark is the one you choose.
Text or image, subtle or bold
Type a label like DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL and pick its color and size, or upload a PNG/JPG logo to use as the mark. Then tune it: lower the opacity so it sits behind your content, set an angle for a classic diagonal look, and choose a single centered mark or a tiled pattern that repeats across the page. Everything applies to all pages at once.
Good to know
Because it runs locally, even a confidential document stays on your device. The watermark is drawn into the saved PDF, so it shows in every reader. To remove pages or reorder them first, use Organize; to shrink the result, use Compress.
How it's applied
The watermark is drawn as its own layer on top of each page's existing content — text is rendered with the font, size, and color you choose, or an image is placed and scaled to your layout, then composited at the opacity you set. Because it's a separate layer rather than a pixel edit, the original page content underneath is untouched; only the watermark is new.
When to think twice
A watermark drawn on top can typically still be removed by anyone with the right tools, so don't rely on it as your only protection for a genuinely sensitive document — pair it with Protect PDF if you need real access control. A heavy, high-opacity tiled watermark can also make a document harder to read on screen or print, so lower opacity keeps text legible while still marking the page.
Typical use
Teams stamp DRAFT across a document before final review, agencies mark proofs CONFIDENTIAL before sending them to a client, and some add a logo watermark to PDFs they distribute publicly so shared copies stay traceable back to the source.