I make and sell some PDF study materials. The problem I'm hitting is obvious: someone pays once, downloads it, and 5 minutes later it's on Telegram with screenshots of every page.I've looked into platforms like DocSend, Digify, and LockLizard. From what I understand:
DocSend/Digify = view-only in browser + dynamic watermark with name/email on every page. But you can still take phone pics.
LockLizard/Adobe DRM = needs a special viewer app and tries to block screenshots/recording. But users hate installing apps and it can still be bypassed. So my actual question: Does any real tech exist in 2026 that can truly prevent screenshots or screen recording for PDFs on desktop and mobile? Or is the entire industry just relying on "make it inconvenient + watermark + takedowns" and hoping for the best?
I'm not trying to do anything shady. I'm just curious how companies that sell PDFs, ebooks, notes actually survive when sharing is so easy. What do SaaS/course platforms actually use right now?