Is it safe to upload your PDF to an online tool?
When you upload a PDF, a copy goes to someone else’s computer and you are trusting what they do with it. Tools that work inside your browser never send the file, so there is nothing to trust.
CompressFree. Nothing is uploaded.
How to do it
- Open the tool you need, such as Compress or Merge, and let the page load.
- Switch on airplane mode or turn off Wi-Fi.
- Add your PDF and run the tool.
- See that it still works: the file never needed the internet, so it was never sent.
How most PDF sites work
Most PDF sites upload your file to their server, do the work there, and send the result back. Many say they delete files after a while, and many probably do. But the copy has left your device, it passes through their systems, and you cannot check what happens to it. For a bank statement, an Aadhaar or a salary slip, that is a real question.
How this site works
Every tool here runs in your browser. There is no server that could receive your file: the site is a folder of pages and scripts, and every page tells the browser it may connect to this site only. Once a tool page has loaded, the tool works with no connection at all.
You can check this yourself. The airplane-mode test above is one way. Another, on a computer, is the browser’s developer tools: open the Network tab and watch as you run a tool. No file goes out.
What still needs care
Keeping a file away from strangers while you work on it does not make it safe to send. Before sharing, take out what the reader does not need with Remove areas, and strip the author and other hidden details with Clean hidden data. On a shared computer, remember that what you save goes into its Downloads folder.
Questions to ask any PDF site
Does it upload the file, or work in the browser? Does it need an account? Does it say how long it keeps files, and where? Does it keep working once the page has loaded and the internet is off? A site that works offline cannot be sending your file anywhere. One that needs a login, or sets a limit on file size or the number of tasks a day, is usually doing the work on a server.
The documents that matter most
Identity documents such as Aadhaar, PAN and passports, bank statements, salary slips, medical reports, property papers and anything carrying a signature can do real harm if they leak. They are also exactly the documents people most often need to compress, merge or unlock for an upload. For them, a tool that never uploads is the safe default rather than a nice extra.
Questions people ask
If nothing is uploaded, how does it work?
Your browser can do far more than show pages. The tools are programs that run inside it, using your device’s own processor and memory.
Do you keep any record of my files?
No. Not a file, not a name, not a page count. There is no server to keep them on.
Why is it free?
Because there is no server doing the work, each file costs us nothing to process. That is also why there are no limits.
Is an app safer than a website?
Not by itself: an app can upload files too. What matters is whether the work happens on your device, and you can check that the same way, by switching the internet off and seeing whether it still works.
What about files I have already uploaded elsewhere?
You cannot recall them, but you can limit the harm. For an ID or a bank document, keep an eye on unexpected messages and transactions, and use tools that work on your device from now on.
Your file stays on your device. Foolscap does the work inside your browser, so nothing is uploaded and there is nothing for anyone to keep. How you can check