Text annotations are free-standing text boxes you place anywhere on a webpage: next to a button, under a heading, over a screenshot. Unlike a sticky note, a text box has no card behind it, so it reads like a label written directly on the page. It is the tool for short, precise comments that need to sit exactly where the issue is. Text boxes are stored locally in your browser and never leave your device.
Key Benefits
- Place a text box anywhere on the page
- Five colors and four font sizes
- Move and edit with the Select tool
- Included in screenshots and JSON export
- 100% private - stored only in your browser
Use Cases
- Detailed content review
- Academic annotation
- Legal document review
- Content editing
- Research analysis
Updated
Text boxes: a label anywhere on the page
Pick the Text box tool, click where the comment belongs, and type. The text is written directly over the page, in the active color and one of four sizes, with no card or background behind it. That makes text boxes the lightest annotation there is: a two-word label under a wrong button, a version number next to a heading, a "delete this" beside a paragraph.
Editing and combining
Switch to the Select tool to drag a text box, double-click it to change the text, or pick a new color and size for it. Text boxes are saved locally with the page URL and restored when you come back. They combine with the other tools: an arrow from the text box to the element it describes, or a rectangle around the area it comments on, turns a label into a complete piece of feedback.
Text box or sticky note?
Use a text box when the comment is short and should read like part of the page. Use a sticky note when it needs a sentence or two and should stand out as a note. Both are free, both take the same five colors and four sizes, and both appear in screenshots and JSON exports.
What text annotations does not do
- Text boxes are placed at a position on the page, not attached to a text selection. Highlite does not offer comments anchored to a passage of text; highlight the passage and place a text box or sticky note next to it instead.
- Plain text only: no formatting, links or images.
- There is no search across text boxes and no list of them across pages.
- Text boxes live in your browser only. They are shared through a screenshot or a JSON export (Premium), not through a link or a thread.
- Like every annotation, a text box is positioned relative to the page layout at the time you placed it. A page that renders differently later may show it next to a different element.
Explore Other Features
Text highlighting
Select any text on a webpage and highlight it with five colors. Highlights persist across sessions and stay 100% private in your browser.
Sticky notes
Place virtual sticky notes anywhere on a page. Move, resize, and color-code them to keep your thoughts organized — all stored locally in your browser.
Free drawing
Draw arrows, circles, and freehand marks on any webpage. Ideal for bug reports, design reviews, and visual feedback you can screenshot instantly.
Guides from the blog
How to Add Comments to a Web Page (Without Owning It)
You can comment on a Google Doc or a Figma file, but not on a live web page. Here is how to leave comments on any page anyway — anchored to the element they are about.
How to Draw Arrows on a Website to Point at Anything
Words like "top right" and "the one below the banner" are the slowest part of any review. An arrow says it once, and nobody has to interpret it.
How to Give Website Feedback Without Screenshots
Screenshots go stale and email threads bury the point. Here's how to give website feedback that's clear the first time — by marking up the live page.
How to Annotate Any Webpage (Without Installing Heavy Software)
You're reading an article, spot something important, and… copy-paste it into a doc? There's a faster way. Here's how to annotate any webpage in seconds.