Add and customize watermarks in Dropbox DocSend

When creating links, you can add custom watermarks to documents and Spaces, providing greater control and security over sensitive content. This additional layer of security over your shared content is especially helpful for deterring unauthorized downloading and sharing.

Add a watermark to a link

Watermarks can be configured separately for each link. You can type in any static text you would like to be shown in the watermark (for example, Confidential, Do Not Share). DocSend also offers dynamic watermark elements that you can also add to your link.

With dynamic watermarks, you can create adaptive watermarks to reflect the current visitor's information, which helps secure your content even further. You can select any combination of these visit elements to automatically apply to your document:

• Email address
• IP address
• Account name
• Date (in UTC)
• Time (in UTC)

Add a watermark to a document 

To add a watermark to a document: 

1. Log in to docsend.com.
2. Go to the document you want to watermark.
3. Click Create link. 
4. Check the checkbox beside Add a watermark to protect from unauthorized use. 
5. Click Preview and customize. 
6. Enter your text into the text field and add any dynamic watermarks you want by clicking {{ip address}}, {{email address}}, {{account}}, {{date}}, or {{time}} below the text field.
7. Customize the watermark using the Position, Rotation, Opacity, Font size, or Font color elements if required.
8. Click Save.

Edit or remove a watermark on a file 

To edit or remove a watermark on an existing link: 

1. Log in to docsend.com.
2. Open the document with the watermark you want to edit.
3. Click  (more options), then choose Edit link settings. 
   • Edit the watermark: Click Preview and customize, edit the watermark elements, click Done, then click Update link. 
   • Remove the watermark: Uncheck the checkbox beside Add a watermark to protect from unauthorized use and click Update link. 

Add a watermark to a Space 

To add a watermark to a new link: 

1. Log in to docsend.com.
2. Go to the Space you want to watermark.
3. Click Share.
4. Click Create link.
5. Click Watermark.
6. Enter your text into the text field and add any dynamic watermarks you want by clicking {{ip address}}, {{email address}}, {{account}}, {{date}}, or {{time}} below the text field.
7. Customize the watermark using the Position, Rotation, Opacity, Font size, or Font color elements if required.
8. Click Done.
9. Click Create link. 
10. Click Copy link to share it.

Edit or remove a watermark on a Space 

To edit or remove a watermark on an existing link: 

1. Log in to docsend.com.
2. Select the Space with the watermark you want to edit.
3. Click Permissions.
4. Click Watermark.
   • Edit a watermark: Edit the text in the text field, or customize the watermark using the Position, Rotation, Opacity, Font size, or Font color elements.
   • Remove a watermark: Toggle Watermark to Off. 
5. Click Save. 

Customize and preview watermarks

You can further customize and configure any of the following elements in the watermark:

• Position: Set the location of the watermark on the document or select Tiled (a repeated watermark text across the document) or Heavily tiled (a denser watermark text pattern that protects more of the document but could make it harder to read).
• Rotation: Rotate the watermark 45, 90, or 180 degrees within the document.
• Font color: Apply a custom color to the watermark text.
• Font size: Adjust the size of the watermark text.
• Transparency: Adjust the transparency of the watermark text between 0 and 75%.

As updates are made to the watermark, the preview image will update to reflect your current configuration.

Visitor experience

When a visitor opens a watermarked document or Space, they'll immediately see the text and any dynamic elements you've configured. 

Default watermark options

If you're an account owner or admin, you can set a default watermark configuration from the Permissions page. Once configured, any newly created links will automatically reflect those settings when Add watermark is enabled. Adding a watermark will also convert any document into a .pdf file which will disable all .gifs. You can’t create watermarks on Agreements or signable documents.