Browser-local by design
How your PDF stays on your device
Privacy is a technical behavior, not a slogan. This page explains what the active tools do, how you can check it, and the limits you should understand before sharing sensitive documents.
Your file is opened in browser memory
The active PDF tools read the file you select from your device and process it with browser-side JavaScript and WebAssembly. The file is not sent to a PrivacyScanPDF document-processing server.
The result is created on your device
Conversions, privacy checks, and downloads are created in the browser session. You choose whether to save the resulting file to your device.
You can verify the behavior
Open your browser's Developer Tools, select Network, clear the log, and run a tool with a sample document. You should not see the document file uploaded to a PrivacyScanPDF endpoint.
How to check it yourself
- Use a sample PDF you own. Open Developer Tools in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari and select the Network panel.
- Clear the network log, run a local tool, and watch the requests. Application assets and optional checkout/newsletter requests are separate from document processing.
- Confirm that no request body contains your selected PDF. If you see unexpected document transmission, stop using the tool and report it through our security disclosure process.
Important limits
- Privacy checks are advisory. The scanner looks for common sensitive-data patterns and selected PDF structure markers. It cannot certify legal compliance or guarantee that every sensitive detail has been detected.
- Scanned-image PDFs need OCR. Text that exists only as pixels may not be detected until OCR is run, and OCR can make mistakes.
- Keep the original. Before sharing a modified or redacted document, review the downloaded result yourself and retain an original copy in a secure location.
- Payments and email are separate. A Lemon Squeezy checkout is handled on Lemon Squeezy's domain. Newsletter and contact forms intentionally send the information you enter; they do not receive your document.