Are online PDF tools safe? How to check for yourself
In short
It depends on where the file is processed. Many PDF websites upload it to their servers and delete it after a while; others, like most PDF Simplu tools, process it in your browser and send it nowhere. For ID and bank statements, choose local processing.
Do it right here
Two kinds of PDF website
- Server processing: the file is uploaded, processed on the site's servers and downloaded again. You trust the company to delete it on time and keep its servers secure. The privacy policy says how long files are kept and where.
- Browser processing: the page loads the program and the file is processed on your device. The document never reaches the site's server.
How to check for yourself
A simple test: open the tool, wait until the page has fully loaded, then turn off the internet (airplane mode on a phone). If the tool still works and gives you the file, processing is local. If you get a network error, the file needed to go to a server.
On a computer you can open the browser's developer tools (F12), choose the Network tab and watch whether a large request, the size of your document, goes out when you process it.
How PDF Simplu works
Merging, compressing, deleting and extracting pages, images to PDF, rotating, signing and redacting run in your browser. The exception is converting between PDF and Word: that needs a server, runs on our own server in Frankfurt, Germany, and the files are deleted straight after conversion.
Good habits for documents with personal data
- Send only the pages that were asked for; remove the rest with Delete PDF pages.
- Black out details the recipient doesn't need with Redact PDF.
- Delete intermediate copies on shared or public computers.