Highlight Any Website or PDF – YouTube Video PlaceholderScroll to load video. If you can't see the video, watch it on YouTube.

Highlight Any Website or PDF

Highlight text on any website or PDF in your browser. Save, organize, and revisit highlights and bookmarks with our free extension.

Video transcript
  1. Click any highlight Clicking a highlight on the page opens its popup: a row of actions above the line, and tags and a note below it.
  2. Add a note, with formatting The note field is always open, so typing adds a note to the highlight right away. The toolbar under the note formats it — here a click on B makes the last words bold; italic, lists and more sit next to it.
  3. Tag it to find it later Typing in Tags suggests the tags you already use; picking one adds it, and a new name is created with “+ Create”.
  4. Or note the whole page A note can also be about the whole page, without a highlight: the small note button between two cards in the sidebar adds one, with the same toolbar — here a line and a short bulleted list.
  5. All in your sidebar The sidebar shows the highlight with its note and tags, and the page note below it. Tags let you find them again in the sidebar and in the web app.

Take Notes & Organize

Add notes, tags, and organize highlights and bookmarks for efficient research. Access everything instantly.

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Video transcript
  1. Select text, pick a color A sentence on a web page is selected. The Web Highlights popup opens next to it with its color palette, and picking mint highlights the sentence in mint.
  2. Or right-click it The next sentence is selected and right-clicked. In the browser’s menu, “Highlight selected text” highlights it in yellow, the default color.
  3. Or use the shortcut A third sentence is selected, and the keyboard shortcut Alt+S (Option+S on a Mac) highlights it.
  4. Works on PDFs too PDFs work the same way: open one in the browser and highlight it. Download the PDF and your highlights are inside, as real annotations.

Highlight in Multiple Colors 🎨

Use pastel and neon colors to organize research. Create custom highlights, notes, and bookmarks for better productivity.

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Highlight YouTube Videos 🎥 – YouTube Video PlaceholderScroll to load video. If you can't see the video, watch it on YouTube.

Highlight YouTube Videos 🎥

Highlight & annotate videos on YouTube. Simply click the highlight button in YouTube or click the extension icon to open the video in our transcript reader.

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Video transcript
  1. Summarize any page One click on AI summary in the sidebar writes the key points of the page. The summary is saved with the page, above your highlights. Key points, TL;DR, headline or teaser; short, medium or long.
  2. Or chat with it Or chat with the page: ask a question and the answer comes from the page itself. AI chat works on websites, PDFs and YouTube videos.
  3. Right on your device The AI runs on your device — Gemini Nano in Chrome, Phi-4-mini in Edge — with no cloud. The free plan includes one AI summary and one new AI chat a day; Ultimate and the free trial lift those limits.

Create AI Summaries

Create AI-powered summaries of your highlights and web pages with the AI built into your browser. It runs on your device, so your pages stay with you.

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Video transcript
  1. Export to your favorite tools A saved page's highlights and notes go to the tools you already use: Notion, Capacities, and Obsidian or any other Markdown app.
  2. Send it to Notion Export to Notion creates a page in your Notion database with the page's title, link and tags, each highlight as a quote and each note under its highlight. Connect Notion once in Settings → Integrations.
  3. Or to Capacities Export to Capacities saves the page as a weblink with your highlights in order and in their colors, each note under its highlight. Exporting again adds only the new highlights.
  4. Or copy it as Markdown Copy Markdown puts the page, its highlights and notes on the clipboard. Paste it into Obsidian or any Markdown app and it reads as formatted text. Copying Markdown and HTML works on every plan; Notion and Capacities exports are one a day each on Free and Premium and unlimited on Ultimate and the free trial; PDF and HTML files need Ultimate or the trial.

Export to Notion, Markdown, and More

Send highlights, notes, and bookmarks to Notion or Capacities with one click, or copy them as Markdown for Obsidian and other apps.

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Video transcript
  1. Close the tab A web page in Chrome has five highlights in five pastel colors. The tab is closed, and days later the page is opened again by typing its address.
  2. Still there when you come back All five highlights come back on the page by themselves, right where they were. No account needed.
  3. Beautifully organized Every highlighted page is in the Web Highlights library: a grid of cards with cover, title and highlight count, sorted into collections.
  4. Synced to every device With sync, the same library is on the phone — in the Web Highlights Android app, or in the web app at app.web-highlights.com in any browser. Sync needs a free account and Premium or Ultimate; the free trial includes it for 7 days.

Access from Any Device 📱

Sync your highlights, notes, and bookmarks across devices. Access saved content and web clippings anywhere.

Create Account
Save Bookmarks 🔖 – YouTube Video PlaceholderScroll to load video. If you can't see the video, watch it on YouTube.

Save Bookmarks 🔖

Use Web Highlights as a web clipper or bookmark manager. Simply click the bookmark icon (or use the context menu) to save any page and access it later from the sidebar or web app.

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📚 Learn More About Web Highlights

📖
Complete Getting Started Guide

Learn all the basics of highlighting, note-taking, and organizing your research.

Read Guide →
💡
Helpful Settings & Tips

Learn how to use the helpful settings to make your reading experience even better.

Learn More →
📄
How to Highlight PDFs

Master PDF highlighting and note-taking for research and study.

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🔄
Export to Notion & Obsidian

Sync your highlights with your favorite note-taking apps.

Export Guide →
⚡
Keyboard Shortcuts

Speed up your workflow with powerful keyboard shortcuts.

Learn More →
📱
Web App Dashboard

Access your highlights anywhere with the Web Highlights web app.

Open Web App →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Web Highlights?
Web Highlights is a browser extension I built to make it super easy to highlight and add notes to any website or PDF. It's perfect for reading, research, or just saving stuff you don't want to forget. It's one of the top Chrome extensions for productivity, and you don't even need to sign up to use it. Just install it and start highlighting. You can use different colors, add tags, and send your notes to second brain apps like Notion, Obsidian, or Capacities.
How does the page marker extension work?
It's simple: Install the extension, or use one of our free online tools, select any text on a webpage or PDF, and you'll see a popup to highlight it. You can also right-click or use keyboard shortcuts if you prefer. Add notes, create tags, and everything is saved automatically. When you come back to the page, your highlights are still there. It's like having a digital marker for the whole web.
Can I highlight and annotate PDFs in Chrome?
Yes! Web Highlights works with both online and local PDFs. Here's how:
  • For online PDFs: Simply open them in your browser and click the "Highlight this PDF" popup or click the extension icon.
  • For local PDFs:
    1. Open the PDF in Chrome (right-click > Open with > Chrome)
    2. Allow Web Highlights to access file URLs (one-time setup)
    3. Click the extension icon or "Highlight this PDF" popup
Once loaded in the Web Highlights viewer, you can highlight text, add notes, and organize with tags just like on websites. The PDF viewer makes it easy to read and annotate your documents and to take notes on the go. Read our complete guide to PDF highlighting →
Is Web Highlights really free?
Yep, most of the features are free! The main highlighter application is totally free. You can make as many highlights, notes, tags, and bookmarks as you want, and the web app stays free too. What the paid plans add is syncing across devices — free for 7 days, and after that your highlights stay where they are and only the syncing stops. You never need to pay to use the basics.
What makes Web Highlights different?
I built Web Highlights to be simple but powerful. Unlike most highlighter applications, you get things like cloud sync, formatted highlights, and easy export to second brain apps. Lots of users say it helps them keep their research and notes organized, whether they're reading for fun, studying, or working. It's all about making it easy to save and find what matters to you—without any fuss.
View all frequently asked questions →