BigWatermark FAQ
Answers to common questions about watermarking PDFs and images with BigWatermark — privacy, supported formats, settings and troubleshooting.
Getting started
Do I need to create an account?
No. BigWatermark works instantly in your browser without registration, email address or login. Just open the page and drop in your files.
Does BigWatermark work on phones and tablets?
Yes. The interface adapts to small screens with Preview, Watermark and Files tabs. Very large batches or very high-resolution photos are faster on a laptop or desktop because phones have less memory available to the browser.
Which browsers are supported?
Any current version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera or Brave on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android or iOS. JavaScript must be enabled because the watermarking runs in the browser.
Can I try it without my own files?
Yes. On any tool page you can load a sample PDF, a sample Word document or a sample photo with one click to see how the watermark controls work before using your own documents.
Privacy & security
Can you see the documents I watermark?
No. PDFs and images never leave your device, so we have no copy to look at. Word files are converted on our server in an isolated temporary folder that is deleted as soon as the PDF is returned to you; we do not keep, read or log their contents.
Is it safe to watermark confidential or legal documents?
Because PDFs are processed locally, BigWatermark is well suited to confidential material. You can verify this yourself: open your browser’s developer tools, watch the Network tab while you watermark a PDF or image, and you will see that the file is never sent anywhere. See also our checklist for protecting confidential PDFs.
Does BigWatermark store cookies?
The tool itself does not need cookies. If advertising is shown on the site, our advertising partners such as Google may use cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.
Files & formats
What format are the watermarked files saved in?
PDFs stay PDFs. Images keep their original format (JPG stays JPG, PNG stays PNG, WebP stays WebP where your browser supports WebP encoding). Word documents are delivered as watermarked PDFs so the layout cannot shift.
Can I watermark password-protected PDFs?
PDFs that require a password to open cannot be watermarked reliably because their content is encrypted. Remove the password first (if you are authorized to), watermark the file, then re-apply protection with your PDF software.
What happens to folders inside my ZIP file?
BigWatermark extracts every supported file from the archive, including files in sub-folders, and skips system files such as __MACOSX. When you download the results as a ZIP, files are placed in a single folder and duplicate names are numbered automatically so nothing is overwritten.
Is there a file size limit?
PDFs, images and ZIP archives have no size limit set by us; the limit is your device memory. Word documents can be up to 50 MB each because they are converted on our server.
Watermark settings
Can I use my own logo as a watermark?
Yes. Switch to Image mode and upload a PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG file. A transparent PNG or an SVG gives the cleanest result because only the logo itself is stamped, not a white box around it.
Can I watermark only some pages of a PDF?
Yes. Under Target Pages choose all pages, the current page, the first or last page, odd or even pages, or type a custom range such as 1-3, 7, 10-12.
Can I repeat the watermark across the whole page?
Yes. Turn on Repeat Pattern to tile your text or logo across every page or image in a straight grid or a staggered brick pattern, and adjust the horizontal and vertical spacing.
Can I type a watermark in Hindi, Arabic, Chinese or other scripts?
Yes. Standard PDF fonts only cover Latin characters, so when your text contains other scripts BigWatermark automatically renders it as a high-resolution image using the fonts installed on your device and stamps that instead.
Troubleshooting
Why did a file fail to process?
The most common causes are a damaged or password-protected PDF, an image larger than your browser can handle, or a Word file that could not be converted. Other files in the batch are still processed, and the failed files are listed so you can retry them.
The download did not start. What should I do?
Some browsers block multiple automatic downloads. Use the "Download All as ZIP" button to save everything as one file, or allow downloads from this site in your browser settings and try again.
Still have a question? Contact us and we’ll get back to you.