Our Privacy Promise
Zero Data Collection by Design
Your files never leave your device. We don't collect, store, or share anything.
At CedarPDF, privacy isn't just a feature—it's our foundation. In an era where user data is frequently harvested to train AI models or sold to third parties, we guarantee that your documents are processed entirely in your web browser. They are never transmitted to our servers or any external cloud infrastructure.
What We Don't Do
We believe in absolute transparency. Here is what we never do:
- ❌ Upload, store, or access your files in any way.
- ❌ Track your activity, usage patterns, or identity.
- ❌ Use cookies for tracking, advertising, or profiling.
- ❌ Collect personal information, email addresses, or require registration.
- ❌ Share data with third parties (because we never receive it).
- ❌ Analyze, scan, or index your document content for any purpose.
How It Works: 100% Client-Side Processing
Whether you are merging, compressing, editing, signing, or performing OCR on your PDFs, all processing happens locally in your web browser using standard, secure web technologies:
- FileReader API: Reads files directly from your local device.
- WebAssembly (Wasm): Runs complex PDF processing code at near-native speed within your browser's sandbox.
- Blob API: Generates the final downloadable result directly in your browser's memory.
Technical verification: We encourage you to verify this yourself. Open your browser's Developer Tools (F12) → Network tab while using CedarPDF. You will see zero network requests transmitting your file data during processing.
The Only Data We Access
To provide our service, your browser temporarily holds your files in memory during processing. This temporary data:
- Exists only in your device's volatile memory (RAM).
- Is automatically and permanently cleared the moment you close the tab or refresh the page.
- Is never written to your local disk (unless you explicitly choose to download the result).
- Cannot be accessed by us, our hosting providers, or anyone else.
Think of it like using a physical calculator: the numbers exist only while you are actively using it, and then they are gone.
Third-Party Services & Open Source
CedarPDF is hosted on modern infrastructure (e.g., Vercel) that may involve third-party services for content delivery (CDN) and SSL certificates. However:
- These services never receive or process your files; they only deliver the static website code to your browser.
- We intentionally choose providers with strong, verifiable privacy commitments.
- Our core PDF processing relies on auditable, open-source libraries. If you are technical, you are welcome to review our code and verify our privacy claims yourself.
Your Rights
Under privacy regulations like GDPR (Europe), PIPEDA (Canada), and CCPA (California), you have the right to:
- Access any data we might have (spoiler: we have none).
- Delete your data (again, there is nothing on our servers to delete).
- Object to processing (your files never reach us to be processed).
- Data Portability (your files are already entirely in your possession).
Children's Privacy
CedarPDF does not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 13 (or 16 in some regions). However, since we do not collect personal data from anyone, this requirement is inherently satisfied. Children can use our tools safely and privately, just like adults.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy occasionally to reflect service improvements, new features, or legal requirements. If we make material changes, we will:
- Post the updated policy on this page.
- Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page.
- Provide prominent notice (e.g., a banner on the homepage) for any significant changes.
Your continued use of CedarPDF after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:
We are a small, Canada-based volunteer team deeply committed to building tools that respect your privacy. We would love to hear from you.
🌲 Privacy isn't complicated. It's about giving you complete control.
Thank you for trusting CedarPDF with your documents.