How to edit a PDF on iPhone and Android
To edit a PDF on Android with PDFriend, open the PDF, tap the More menu, then tap Annotate and sign. Add text, highlight lines, draw with the pen, cover a part with Whiteout or add a signature, then tap Save. The app saves an edited copy. To fill in a PDF form, use Fill form. The app cannot change or delete the text that is already in the PDF. The iPhone app has the same tools.
What can you edit in a PDF on a phone?
"Edit a PDF" can mean two different things. You can add new content on top of the page, or you can change the content that is already there. PDFriend does the first. It does not do the second.
| Edit | PDFriend | How |
|---|---|---|
| Add text to a PDF | Yes | Annotate and sign, Text |
| Highlight a PDF | Yes | Annotate and sign, Highlighter |
| Write or draw on a PDF | Yes | Annotate and sign, Pen |
| Sign a PDF | Yes | Annotate and sign, Signature |
| Cover a part of a page with white | Yes, but the covered text stays in the file | Annotate and sign, Whiteout |
| Fill in a PDF form | Yes | Fill form |
| Move, turn or remove pages | Yes | Organize |
| Keep only some pages | Yes | Extract pages |
| Cut a PDF into many files | Yes | Split |
| Join PDF files | Yes | Merge PDF |
| Make the file smaller | Yes | Compress |
| Add or remove a password | Yes | Lock and Unlock |
| Change or delete the existing text | No | Not possible |
| Change or delete the existing images | No | Not possible |
To correct a word in the original text, edit the source document, for example the Word file, and make the PDF again. On a scanned paper form, you can put a text box over an empty field. For a PDF form with fields, use Fill form.
No source file? Tap More, then PDF to Word. The app makes a .docx file with the text as paragraphs that you can edit. Change the text in a word processor app, then convert the file back with Word to PDF. Tables and columns do not keep their layout, and a scanned page stays a picture. Read how to convert a PDF to Word on Android.
How do you add text, highlights and drawings to a PDF?
The Annotate and sign screen has 5 tools: Pen, Highlighter, Text, Signature and Whiteout. The colors are black, red, blue, green and yellow. The Pen and the Highlighter have 3 widths: Thin, Medium and Thick.
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Open the PDF
Open PDFriend and tap the PDF in the file list. If the PDF is in another place, add it with the Import PDF tool first.
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Open Annotate and sign
In the PDF viewer, tap the More menu (three dots), then tap Annotate and sign.
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Add text
Tap Text, then tap the page where the text must start. Type the text, then tap Save. Drag the text box to move it. Pinch to make it larger or smaller.
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Highlight or draw
Tap Highlighter or Pen. Choose a color and a width: Thin, Medium or Thick. Then draw on the page with your finger.
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Cover a part with white
Tap Whiteout, then drag across the page. A white box covers that part. To write on the box, use the Text tool. The covered text stays in the file.
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Correct a mistake
Tap Undo to remove the last change. Tap Clear page to remove all your changes on the page.
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Save the edited copy
Tap the Save button at the top. The app saves a new PDF with "(annotated)" at the end of the name. The original file does not change.
The app saves the edited PDF as a new file. The original PDF stays as it was. The new file goes to Documents/ImageToPDF on Android and shows in the file list.
Note: the app draws your changes as one image layer over the page. The text that you add does not become searchable text. The Highlighter does not select words: you draw it over the line with your finger.
Whiteout hides the content only from the eye. The text under the white box stays in the file, and a PDF search or a copy still finds it. The app tells you: "The covered text stays in the file." Do not use Whiteout to hide private data in a file that you send.
To add a signature, tap Signature and draw it one time. The app keeps it for the next PDF. For the full steps, read how to sign a PDF on your phone.
How do you fill in a PDF form on Android?
Many forms from offices and schools are PDF forms with fields. The Fill form tool fills these fields: text fields, check boxes, radio buttons, drop-down lists and lists.
- Tap More on the home screen, then tap Fill form and pick the PDF. If the PDF is open in the viewer, tap the More menu, then tap Fill form.
- The screen lists the fields in reading order. Each field shows the part of the page around it, so you see the question next to the field.
- Type the text, and select the check boxes, the radio buttons and the list items.
- Tap Save as new PDF. The app saves a copy with "(filled)" at the end of the name. The original file does not change.
By default, the values become a part of the page, and every PDF app shows them. Turn on Keep the fields editable if another person must change the values later. Some apps do not show the values of editable fields.
- The app does not fill a signature field. Sign with Annotate and sign.
- Right-to-left text, for example Arabic or Hebrew, is not supported in form fields.
- A dynamic XFA form that only Adobe Acrobat can show cannot be filled.
- A PDF without fields shows "This PDF has no form fields. Use Annotate and sign to write on the page."
Which other PDF edits can you do on Android?
PDFriend also changes the pages, the size and the password of a PDF. Each tool saves a new file, so the original stays safe.
- Organize: tap More on the home screen, then tap Organize. Or, in the PDF viewer, tap the More menu, then tap Organize pages. Long press a page to move it, turn a page by 90 degrees, or remove a page. Tap Save as new PDF.
- Split: tap More on the home screen, then tap Split. The app cuts one PDF into many new files. Read how to split a PDF on Android.
- Extract pages: in the PDF viewer, tap the More menu, then tap Extract pages. Type the pages to keep, for example 1-3, 5.
- Merge PDF: join 2 or more PDF files into one, in the order that you choose. Read how to merge PDF files on Android.
- Compress: make a PDF smaller with 3 levels: Small, Medium and Light reduction. With PDFriend Pro, you can also set a size limit. Read how to make a PDF smaller on Android.
- Lock and Unlock: tap More on the home screen, then tap Lock or Unlock. Lock saves a copy with a password. Unlock saves a copy without it, after you type the correct password. Read how to put a password on a PDF.
- Export pages as images: in the PDF viewer, tap the More menu, then tap Export pages as images.
Tip: to annotate, compress or merge a PDF with a password, unlock it first. After the edit, you can lock the new file again. Organize, Split and Fill form work on a file with a password: you type the password one time, and the new file keeps it.
How do you edit a PDF on iPhone?
PDFriend is also an iPhone app (iOS 26 and later). The PDF viewer has the same Annotate and sign action, with Text, Highlighter, Pen, Signature and Whiteout. Fill form is in the More tools sheet. The app saves an edited copy. The PDF goes to the folder of the app. In the Files app, open On My iPhone > PDFriend.
Questions and answers
Can I edit the existing text of a PDF on Android with PDFriend?
No. PDFriend cannot change or delete the text or the images that are already in the PDF. It adds text, highlights, drawings and a signature on top of the page. Whiteout covers a part of the page with white, but the covered text stays in the file.
How do I add text to a PDF on my phone?
In PDFriend, open the PDF, tap the More menu, tap Annotate and sign, then tap Text. Tap the page, type the text and tap Save. Then tap the Save button at the top to save the copy.
How do I highlight text in a PDF?
Open Annotate and sign, tap Highlighter, choose a color such as yellow, then draw over the line with your finger. The highlight is transparent, so the text under it stays visible.
How do I fill in a PDF form on my phone?
In PDFriend, tap More on the home screen, then tap Fill form and pick the PDF. Type in the text fields and select the check boxes and the list items. Tap Save as new PDF. The app saves a copy with "(filled)" at the end of the name.
Can I edit a PDF that has a password?
Not with Annotate and sign. The app shows "The PDF has a password. Remove the password first, then annotate the copy." Use the Unlock tool to save a copy without the password, then edit the copy. Organize, Split and Fill form work on a PDF with a password: you type the password one time, and the new PDF gets the same password.
Can I change my annotations after I save?
Before you save, you can move, resize and undo your changes. After you save, the changes are part of the page image layer. Keep the original file, so you can start again from it if necessary.