Don't take our word for it: check that your files stay on your device
Every file site says it is private. Most of them still upload your file to their servers, do the work there and send the result back. PilotPDF does the work inside your browser instead, so your file never has to leave your device.
You don't need to trust that sentence. Below are two checks you can do yourself, with tools that are already in your browser. Pick any tool and any file you like.
Check 1: watch every request the page makes
Your browser can show you everything a page sends and receives. On a computer:
- Open a tool, for example Merge PDF or Compress PDF.
- Open the developer tools: press F12, or Ctrl+Shift+I on Windows and Linux, or Cmd+Option+I on a Mac. In Safari, first turn on "Show features for web developers" in Settings, Advanced.
- Click the Network tab. Tick Preserve log so the list survives moving to the next screen, then clear the list with the clear button.
- Add your file and run the tool until you have downloaded the result.
- Look down the list. Click the Size column to put the biggest requests first, and look at the Method column.
What you will see
| Address | What it is |
|---|---|
| pilotpdf.com | The page and its code, including the engines that do the work (pdf.js, qpdf and others). These are GET requests: your browser downloading code. You may also see a HEAD request, a quick "am I online?" check that carries nothing. |
| google-analytics.com, googletagmanager.com | Usage counts: which tool, how many files, a size band such as "1-10MB", and whether the job finished. Click one and open Payload to read exactly what is sent. No file, file name or content. |
| cdn.jsdelivr.net | Only on PDF OCR and Image to Text: the text-reading engine and language data, downloaded when you press Start. |
What an upload would look like
An upload is a request with the method POST or PUT whose size is about the size of your file: a 3 MB PDF makes a 3 MB request. Try the same steps on a converter that uploads and you will see one straight away. On PilotPDF you won't find one. The biggest requests are the tools' own code coming down to you.
Check 2: switch off the internet halfway
If the work happens on our servers, it can't happen without the internet. This check works on phones too. The order matters:
- Open a tool, add your file and continue until you see the tool's settings screen. Wait a few seconds for it to finish loading.
- Now turn off Wi-Fi and mobile data, or switch on airplane mode.
- Run the tool and download the result. It works.
Go offline after the settings screen has opened, not before: moving from one page to the next loads that page's code, and that does need the internet. The OCR tools are the exception, because they download their reading engine when you press Start, so use the Network check for those.
How we check it ourselves
Before each release, automated tests run real files through the tools in Chrome, Firefox, Safari and on phone screens. Two of those tests are these same checks. One records every request made while a tool works on a file, including requests from background workers, and fails if any of them contains the file, its name or a piece of its content, or goes to an address not listed above. The other turns the network off once the tool has opened and checks that the tool still produces a correct file.
Read how in-browser processing works for the background, and the privacy policy for the formal version, including exactly which usage counts we keep.
What these checks don't cover
- Browser extensions you have installed can read any page you open, including this one. That is true on every website.
- Your results are saved to your device like any download. Who else can open your Downloads folder is up to you.
- The checks show what the site does today. You can repeat them whenever you like.
Questions
Do I need to be technical to do these checks?
No. The Network check needs a computer browser and about two minutes. The offline check only needs you to turn Wi-Fi off at the right moment.
Why do I see requests to Google Analytics?
We count which tools are used, how many files were chosen, a rough size band like "1-10MB", and whether the job finished or failed. Click one of those requests and read its payload: there is no file, no file name and no file content. If you block analytics, every tool still works.
Why do the OCR tools contact cdn.jsdelivr.net?
PDF OCR and Image to Text download their text-reading engine and the language data from that public library server when you press Start. These are downloads to your browser. Your file is read on your device and is not sent there.
Couldn't the site hide an upload from the Network tab?
No. The Network tab is part of your browser, not our page, and it lists every request the page makes, including ones from background workers. That is why we point you to it rather than to anything on our own site.
Does this prove the site will never change?
No check can promise that. It shows what the site does today, and you can repeat it any time, on any tool, in a couple of minutes.
Found a request you can't explain? Tell us and we will look into it.