PDF Guard Verify privacy

Verify our privacy claims yourself

Q: What are the limits of these tests?

Like any web app, you're trusting the code your browser loaded for that session. What the tests prove is what that code actually does — your browser shows you every byte it sends, and no website can hide traffic from its own Network tab. Because you can re-run the tests on any visit with your real files, it's a repeatable check rather than a promise.

Every PDF site says "we care about your privacy." We'd rather you didn't take our word for it. Below are three tests anyone can run — no coding required — that show your documents never leave your browser. Don't trust. Verify.

Three tests · under five minutes · your own browser is the referee

Open the editor and test it How it works under the hood

Three tests you can run right now

Each one uses tools already built into your computer. If we were uploading your files, any of these would catch us.

The DevTools Network test

~2 minutes · works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari

Your browser logs every single network request a page makes — there is no way for a website to hide traffic from its own Network tab. So watch it while you work on a real document.
1. Open any PDF Guard tool — for example Redact PDF or the full editor.
2. Open your browser's developer tools: press F12, or Cmd+Option+I on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+I on Windows — then click the Network tab.
3. Click the clear button (🚫) so the list starts empty.
4. Drop a PDF into the tool. Use a real one — the bigger and more sensitive-looking, the better the test.
5. Redact, merge, compress — do whatever you came to do, then download the result.
6. Read the request list. Look for any request whose size is anywhere near your file's, or any POST carrying document data.
What you'll see: zero requests containing your document. Your 40 MB contract produces 0 bytes of upload traffic — because processing happens in the tab, not on a server.
The Wi-Fi test

~1 minute · no technical skills needed

A tool that uploads your file to a server physically cannot work without a connection. So take the connection away and see what happens.
1. Open the PDF Guard editor and load a PDF, so the app is fully in your tab.
2. Turn off Wi-Fi — or flip on Airplane mode. Unplug the Ethernet cable too, if you're thorough.
3. Keep working: redact a page, merge files, compress, sign — every tool you already opened.
4. Download your finished file. Open it from your Downloads folder.
What you'll see: everything keeps working, start to finish, with no connection at all. Try that with any upload-based PDF site — it stops at the progress bar.
The redaction test

~2 minutes · proves the output, not just the transport

Privacy isn't only about where your file goes — it's also about what's left inside it. Many "redaction" tools just draw a black box on top of text that is still in the file. Check ours.
1. Open Redact PDF and load a document with some text you can identify — a name, a number.
2. Draw a redaction box over that text and apply it.
3. Download the redacted file and open it in any PDF viewer — Preview, Acrobat, your browser.
4. Try to select the text underneath the black box, then press Ctrl+C / Cmd+C and paste into a text editor.
5. Also try Ctrl+F / Cmd+F and search for the exact words you redacted.
What you'll see: nothing to copy, nothing to find. The text under the box isn't hidden — it's gone. It was deleted from the file's content streams before the new PDF was written.

How this is possible

There's no magic — just a deliberate architecture decision: the code comes to your file, instead of your file going to the code.

The whole engine runs in your browser

PDF Guard is built on proven open-source engines — pdf.js (Mozilla's PDF renderer) and pdf-lib — compiled to run entirely inside your browser tab. Rendering pages, rewriting content streams, merging, compressing: all of it executes on your own CPU, in your tab's memory.

When you close the tab, that memory is released. There is no server-side copy to delete, because none was ever made.

The only network traffic

Your browser does make some requests — and every one is visible in the Network tab. They fall into exactly two groups: loading the app itself (HTML, JavaScript, fonts — the same static files everyone gets), and optional license checks if you're on Pro (a token, nothing more).

Never document bytes. There is no upload endpoint in the code. Sending your file somewhere isn't a setting we've turned off — it's a capability that doesn't exist.

An honest note about the limits of this proof

We want to be precise about what these tests prove. Like every web app, you're trusting the code your browser loaded when the page opened — a page could, in theory, behave differently for different visitors. That's true of every website on the internet, including this one.

What makes this proof strong is that it doesn't rely on our promises: your browser's Network tab shows you every byte the page actually sends, on your machine, during your session, with your real files. No site can hide traffic from its own browser. Run the tests on any visit, as often as you like — that's a standing, repeatable check that a privacy-policy paragraph can never match.

Open the editor and run the tests

Frequently asked questions

How can I verify that PDF Guard doesn't upload my files?

Open your browser's DevTools (F12), go to the Network tab, and use any tool with a real PDF. You'll see zero requests containing your document — only the app's own static files. You can also turn off Wi-Fi after the page loads: every tool keeps working, which is only possible because processing happens locally in your tab.

Why does the page make any network requests at all?

Two reasons only: loading the app itself (the HTML, JavaScript, and fonts every visitor gets), and optional license checks for Pro accounts, which send a license token and nothing else. Neither ever includes your document's bytes — and you can confirm that request-by-request in the Network tab.

Is redacted text really unrecoverable?

Yes — and you can test it in two minutes. Redact something, download the file, then try to select, copy, or search for the text under the black box in any PDF viewer. You'll find nothing, because the content was deleted from the PDF's content streams, not covered up. Keep your original file: redaction on the new copy can't be undone.

What are the limits of these tests?

Honest answer: like any web app, you're trusting the code your browser loaded for that session. What the tests prove is what that code actually does — your browser shows you every byte it sends, and no website can hide traffic from its own Network tab. Because you can re-run the tests on any visit with your real files, it's a repeatable check rather than a promise.

Do I need to be technical to run these tests?

No. The Wi-Fi test is just flipping Airplane mode on and continuing to work. The redaction test is copy-paste. The DevTools test is one keyboard shortcut (F12) and watching a list stay empty. Each takes under two minutes and uses only what's already on your computer.

Pick a tool and put us to the test

Every tool follows the same rule: your file stays in your tab. Bring your most sensitive document — that's the point.