About PDF Tools
PDF Tools is a free collection of document utilities at https://filetools-ai.com, built around one idea: editing a PDF should not require uploading it to a stranger's server.
The problem we set out to solve
Almost everyone eventually needs to merge two PDFs, pull one page out of a scan, shrink a file that is too large to email, or add a watermark before sending a draft. The usual options are frustrating: desktop software that costs money for a task that takes ten seconds, or free websites that require you to upload a document — often a contract, an invoice, a medical record, or an ID scan — to an unknown server, then wait, then hope it gets deleted.
Modern browsers are genuinely powerful. They can parse, rewrite, render, and re-encode a PDF without any help from a server. We built this site to take advantage of that.
How it works
10 of our tools run entirely on your own device. When you pick a file, it is read into your browser's memory, processed by JavaScript running on your machine, and handed straight back to you as a download. Nothing is uploaded, so there is no upload wait, no queue, and no copy of your document on our infrastructure for us to lose or leak. It also means the tools keep working on a slow connection, and you can confirm the claim yourself: open your browser's developer tools, watch the network tab, and you will see no request carrying your file.
That does mean we only offer what a browser can genuinely do well. Some operations — OCR, Office conversion, PDF/A output — need software that has no JavaScript equivalent, so we would have to upload your file to provide them. For now we would rather offer fewer tools than quietly start uploading documents, so everything here stays local to your device. The full detail is in our Privacy Policy.
What we believe
- Privacy by architecture, not by promise. A tool that never receives your file cannot misuse it. Where that is achievable we build it that way, and where it is not, we say so plainly instead of burying it.
- No friction. No account, no email address, no watermark on your output, no "three free conversions then upgrade".
- Honesty about limits. Compression cannot shrink every file dramatically, and format conversion is never perfect. We would rather tell you that up front than overpromise.
- Fast and light. Pages are small and static, and processing starts the moment you drop a file in.
How the site is funded
The tools are free and there is no paid tier. Hosting, domain, and development are paid for by the advertisements you see on the site. Ads let us keep the service free for people who need it and avoid charging for a one-minute task. We do not sell your data — we could not sell your documents even if we wanted to, because we never receive them. Our Cookie Policy explains what our advertising partners set in your browser and how to opt out of personalised ads.
Who we are
PDF Tools is built and maintained by a team of passionate software developers and designers.
Get in touch
Found a PDF that breaks a tool, or want a feature that is missing? Bug reports with a description of the file are genuinely useful and are the fastest way to get something fixed. Reach us through the contact page, or browse all available tools to see what we have built so far.