Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

SelfPDF ("we", "us", or "our") is a free, open-source web application that provides PDF processing tools. SelfPDF is available at selfpdf.com. The project is maintained by its contributors and released under the MIT open-source license.

2. Information We Do Not Collect

To be completely transparent, here is a comprehensive list of data we do not collect:

• Your PDF files or their contents. All PDF processing happens entirely in your browser using client-side JavaScript and WebAssembly. Your files are never uploaded to any server — ours or anyone else's.
• Personal identifiers. We don\'t ask for your name, email address, phone number, or any other personally identifiable information. There is no sign-up, no login.
• Behavioural analytics. We don\'t use Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, Segment, Hotjar, FullStory, or any equivalent tracking or analytics service.
• Usage patterns. We don\'t record which tools you use, how many files you process, or how long you spend on the site.
• Device fingerprints. We don\'t build fingerprints from your browser version, screen resolution, fonts, or any other device characteristics.
• IP addresses. While our hosting infrastructure may log IP addresses transiently (as is standard for web servers), we do not store, process, or analyse these logs for any purpose related to individual user identification.

3. Information We Do Collect

3.1 Local Storage (Preferences Only)

SelfPDF stores one piece of data in your browser\'s local storage: your colour theme preference (light or dark mode). This data never leaves your device and can be cleared at any time by clearing your browser\'s site data.

3.2 Aggregate Performance Metrics

Our hosting provider (Vercel) automatically collects anonymised, aggregate infrastructure metrics such as request counts, response latency, and error rates. This data is used solely for monitoring uptime and performance. It contains no personally identifiable information and cannot be linked to individual users or sessions.

3.3 Advertising

SelfPDF displays ads through a third-party ad network to support its free operation. Ad providers may set their own cookies and collect certain data (such as approximate location derived from your IP address) in accordance with their own privacy policies. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any ad provider you interact with. You may opt out of personalised advertising through your browser\'s privacy settings or by using an ad blocker.

4. Cookies

SelfPDF itself does not set any first-party cookies. Third-party ad providers on the site may set cookies in accordance with their own policies. You can control or disable cookies at any time through your browser settings.

5. How Your Files Are Processed

When you open a PDF with SelfPDF, the following happens entirely on your device:

1. Your browser reads the file from your local disk using the Web File API.
2. The file data is loaded into your browser tab\'s memory (RAM).
3. Our WebAssembly and JavaScript libraries process the file according to the operation you selected.
4. The output file is made available for download directly from your browser\'s memory, using a temporary Blob URL.
5. When you close the tab or navigate away, all file data is garbage-collected and permanently discarded.

At no point does any file data leave your device or transit over any network connection.

6. Third-Party Libraries

SelfPDF uses the following open-source libraries for PDF processing. All of these run entirely in your browser and do not communicate with any external servers:

• pdf-lib — PDF creation and manipulation
• pdfjs-dist — PDF rendering and parsing (by Mozilla)
• Tesseract.js — OCR text extraction via WebAssembly

7. Open Source Transparency

Because SelfPDF is fully open source, you don\'t have to take our word for any of this. You can inspect exactly how the application works, verify that no data leaves your browser, and even run your own private instance. The source code is available on GitHub.

8. Children's Privacy

SelfPDF does not knowingly collect any information from children under the age of 13. Because we collect no personal data from any user, the service is safe for users of all ages. Parents and guardians who have concerns should contact us using the information below.

9. International Users

SelfPDF is accessible worldwide. Because we collect virtually no user data, GDPR (EU), CCPA (California), PIPEDA (Canada), and equivalent laws are straightforward to comply with — there is no personal data to process, transfer, or delete. If you have specific regulatory questions, please reach out.

10. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights over your personal data, including the right to access, correct, or delete it. Because SelfPDF collects no personal data (other than the optional theme preference stored locally in your own browser), exercising most of these rights simply involves clearing your browser\'s local storage for our domain. If you have questions, please contact us.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, law, or our practices. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date at the top. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. Contact

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please open an issue on our GitHub repository. This is the fastest way to get a response from the maintainers.