Edit PDF Online — Free In-Browser PDF Editor
Add text, images, drawings, highlights, whiteout and signatures directly on your PDF — entirely in your browser. Your file is never uploaded anywhere.
Drag & drop a PDF here to start editing
or choose a file from your device — nothing is uploaded to any server
Works fully offline once the page has loaded — your PDF stays on your device.
Leave the editor?
You have unsaved changes. We can keep a draft on this device for up to 24 hours so you can pick up where you left off.
What Is This Tool?
The PDF Editor lets you mark up and change a PDF directly in your browser: add text boxes, place images and signatures, draw freehand, highlight or underline, cover mistakes with whiteout, and reorder, rotate or delete pages — then download the result as a new PDF.
Unlike every other tool on this site, this one is entirely client-side. Your file is loaded into your browser's memory and rendered there using open-source PDF libraries; it is never transmitted to any server. The "Download" button builds the edited PDF locally and saves it straight to your device.
Why Edit a PDF in Your Browser?
Most online PDF editors upload your document to a server, edit it there, and hand you back a link. That means your contract, ID scan, or medical form briefly exists on someone else's computer. This editor skips that step entirely — the editing happens on your machine, using your browser's own processing power, so sensitive documents never have to leave your control.
Benefits of This Editor
- Your file is never uploaded — it stays in your browser's memory
- Add text, images, drawings, shapes, highlights and signatures
- Reorder, rotate or delete pages with a drag-and-drop thumbnail strip
- Full undo/redo while you work
- No account, no watermark, no file size uploaded anywhere
Step-by-Step Guide
Drag in a PDF or choose one from your device.
Pick a tool — text, image, draw, highlight, whiteout, shapes or signature.
Click or drag on the page to place it, then move or resize as needed.
Click Download to save the edited PDF to your device.
Working with Pages
Use the thumbnail strip on the left to jump between pages, drag thumbnails to reorder them, rotate a page with the rotate icon that appears on hover, or delete a page you no longer need (you always need to keep at least one page).
Editing Text, Shapes and Signatures
After placing a text box, image, drawing or shape, switch to the Select tool to drag it into position or resize it from its bottom-right handle. Selecting a text box or shape shows a small toolbar above the page where you can change its font, size, color or line thickness.
Features
- Add and format text boxes
- Place images and signatures (draw, type or upload)
- Freehand drawing pen
- Highlight, underline and strikethrough
- Rectangle, ellipse and line shapes
- Whiteout to cover mistakes
- Reorder, rotate and delete pages
- Undo / redo and zoom
- 100% client-side — nothing is ever uploaded
Troubleshooting
Problem: My annotations look slightly off after I rotate a page
Solution: Annotations are anchored to the page content, so rotating a page rotates its annotations with it. If something looks misplaced, use Undo and try again, or resize/move it after rotating.
Problem: The page won't load my PDF
Solution: Confirm the file is a valid, non-corrupted PDF. Password-protected PDFs need to be unlocked first — try our Unlock PDF tool, then re-open the result here.
Problem: I closed the tab and lost my edits
Solution: Because nothing is uploaded, edits only exist in your browser tab's memory until you click Download. Keep the tab open until you've downloaded your file, and download often if you're making a lot of changes.
PDF Editor FAQ
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. This editor runs entirely in your browser using client-side PDF libraries. Your file is read locally, edited locally, and the download is generated locally — it never travels over the network.
Can I add my signature to a PDF?
Yes. Use the Signature tool to draw a signature with your mouse or finger, type your name in a cursive style, or upload an image of your signature. It's then placed on the page like any other image, which you can move and resize.
Does the highlight/underline tool detect the actual text?
No — these are freeform marks you draw over the page, similar to a real highlighter pen. They are not "smart" and don't snap to or recognize the underlying PDF text, but they work on any PDF, including scanned documents.
Can I edit the existing text already in the PDF?
Not directly — this tool adds new text, image, drawing and shape layers on top of the page rather than rewriting the PDF's original text content. To hide existing text, use the Whiteout tool to cover it and then add a text box on top with the correct content.
Can I undo a mistake?
Yes. Use the Undo/Redo buttons in the toolbar (or Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y) to step backward and forward through every change, including page reordering, rotation and deletion.
What happens if I reorder or delete pages?
Drag thumbnails in the left sidebar to reorder pages, use the rotate icon to rotate a single page, or the delete icon to remove one. You always need to keep at least one page in the document.
Is there a file size limit?
There's no server-side limit since nothing is uploaded, but very large PDFs may load and render more slowly depending on your device's available memory.
Does this work on mobile?
Yes, the editor supports touch input for drawing, placing and resizing annotations on modern mobile browsers, though a larger screen makes precise editing easier.
Privacy & Security
Stronger privacy than a typical online editor
Every other tool on this site processes your file on our server and deletes it shortly afterward. This editor goes further: your PDF is never sent to us at all. It's loaded, rendered and edited entirely inside your browser tab using open-source PDF libraries running on your own device.
- No upload happens at any point — there is no "/process" step for this tool.
- Your original file's bytes are kept untouched in your browser's memory for the whole session; edits are layered on top and only combined when you click Download.
- Clicking Download builds the final PDF locally and saves it straight to your device as a local file — we never see it.
- Closing the tab or navigating away clears everything from memory; nothing is stored or logged on our end.
Read our full Privacy Policy or Contact Us if you have any questions about how this tool works.
Why Trust PDFCherry?
PDFCherry is built and maintained by a small, dedicated team and runs on established, industry-standard PDF libraries — not an anonymous "free tool" that resells your files or data. The privacy practices above apply across the whole site. More about PDFCherry.
Having issues or need help? Contact Us — we're here to help.
Ready to Edit Your PDF?
It's free, private, and your file never leaves your device. Drop a PDF in above and start editing.
Upload Your File — Start Editing