Guides
Short answers to questions about PDFs, with the tool for each.
- How to check if a PDF website uploads your file Two tests anyone can run on any PDF website, this one included: watch the browser’s Network panel for a request carrying the file, or use the tool with the network off.
- How to redact a PDF so the text is really gone A black box drawn over text in a PDF hides it but doesn’t remove it. What true redaction does, how to check the result, and how to redact without uploading the file.
- Is iLovePDF safe? Is iLovePDF safe? What its security page and privacy policy say about uploads, encryption, deletion within two hours and your files’ contents, as read on 14 November 2026.
- Is it safe to upload a PDF to an online tool? What happens to a PDF you upload to an online converter, what the risks are, and how to merge, split or protect a PDF without uploading it at all.
- How to merge PDFs without uploading them Ways to combine PDF files that keep them on your device: a browser tool that runs locally, Preview on a Mac, the Files app on iPhone. When it matters, and the steps.
- How to password protect a PDF, and what a password can’t do How PDF passwords work, how to add one without uploading the file, how to choose a password that holds, and what a password does not protect against.
- PDF too large to email? What you can do Why a PDF gets too big to attach, what the usual email limits are, and three ways round it: send only the pages needed, split the file, or compress it.
- PDF tools that work offline in your browser What “works offline” means for a browser PDF tool, how to tell whether one really does, what can’t work without a connection, and which PDF Case tools run offline.
- How to turn photos of a document into one PDF Photographed a contract, receipts or homework? How to take usable photos, put them into one PDF in the right order, and tidy the pages, without uploading them.
- How to sign a PDF without creating an account or uploading it Sign a PDF in your browser with a drawn, typed or photographed signature: no account, no upload. And how that differs from a certificate-based digital signature.
- What a PDF reveals about you A PDF can carry your name, the app you used, dates, comment authors and even where a photo was taken. What is stored, how to see it, and how to remove it.
- What does flattening a PDF mean? Flattening makes form answers, comments and highlights a permanent part of the page. What changes, what doesn’t, when you need it and when you shouldn’t.
- Which PDF sites upload your files? What twelve online PDF tools say about your files: whether they leave your device, how long they are kept and whether you need an account. Sourced and dated.
Files are processed on this device and never uploaded.