01Who we are and what this covers
FernPDF (“FernPDF”, “we”, “us”) provides browser-based PDF tools at fernpdf.joshuaalanfernandes.com: merge, split, compress, edit and annotate, convert between PDF and Word or JPG, and OCR text extraction. This policy explains what happens to your documents and what little information we handle when you use the site.
The honest summary: FernPDF is built so that we cannot see your documents. The site is delivered as static files, all document processing runs inside your browser, and there is no FernPDF server that receives, stores, or analyzes your files.
02How your files are processed
When you drop a file into any FernPDF tool, it is opened directly by JavaScript running in your browser tab. Reading, rendering, and rebuilding PDFs is done locally by the open-source libraries PDF.js (Mozilla) and pdf-lib, running on your own device, in some cases inside a Web Worker for speed. The processed result is assembled in your browser’s memory and saved through your browser’s normal download mechanism.
At no point in this flow is your file, its text, its images, or its metadata transmitted over the network. You can verify this yourself: open your browser’s developer tools, watch the Network tab, and run any tool, and you will see no upload requests.
Because processing happens on your device, your files also never touch a queue, a temporary bucket, or a “deleted after 24 hours” server. There is simply nothing on our side to delete.
03What we collect, and what we don't
We designed FernPDF to work without collecting personal data. Specifically:
- No accounts. Every tool works without signing up, so we hold no names, email addresses, or passwords.
- No file contents. As described above, documents never leave your device.
- No analytics or advertising trackers. The site ships no third-party analytics scripts, ad pixels, or fingerprinting code.
- No usage profiles. We do not log which tools you use or how often. Your browser can keep an optional history for your own dashboard (described below), but it stays on your device.
What the site remembers, it remembers only on your device, in your browser’s localStorage: your theme choice (light or dark), your settings toggles, and (if you leave history enabled) a local activity log of the jobs you run (the tool used, the file name, file sizes, and a timestamp; never file contents). None of this is transmitted anywhere, and you can switch history off or erase everything at any time (see “Your local workspace” below).
If you email us, we receive whatever you choose to include in that email and use it only to reply to you.
04Your local workspace
The dashboard and account pages show statistics and a “recent jobs” list. All of it is computed from the local activity log in your own browser. There is no server-side copy, and opening FernPDF on another device or browser starts from a blank slate, because nothing follows you.
You are in full control of this log: the account page has a switch to stop recording history entirely, and a “clear local history” action that erases the job list and statistics in one click. Clearing your browser’s site data for fernpdf.joshuaalanfernandes.com removes it too. The log keeps at most the last 100 jobs and stores only metadata (tool, file name, sizes, time), never the documents themselves.
05The document assistant
Today the document assistant works entirely on your device: it searches inside the PDF you load, reports document stats (pages, words, reading time), and exports the text, all computed in your browser’s memory over the document’s own text layer. Your queries and your document’s text are never sent to us or to any third party, because there is no network call involved. The indexed text is discarded when you close the tab, and the assistant can be switched off entirely on the account page.
AI summaries and chat are not available yet.They are marked “coming soon” in the product and are still in development. If and when we ship an AI feature that needs to process your document outside your browser, we will update this policy first and clearly label, inside the product, exactly what data would be transmitted, to whom, and under what terms, before any document content leaves your device.
07Hosting and server logs
FernPDF is a static website: the pages, scripts, and fonts are delivered by a hosting/CDN provider the same way any website’s assets are. Like virtually all web hosts, that provider may process standard, short-lived access logs (your IP address, browser user-agent, and the URL requested) for security, abuse prevention, and operations.
These logs relate only to fetching the site itself. Your documents are never part of any request, so they can never appear in any log. We do not use access logs to identify or profile visitors.
09Data retention
There is nothing for us to retain. Files you process exist only in your browser tab’s memory and are released when you close the tab or navigate away. The results you download are saved only to your device. On our side, no copy is ever created, so no retention or deletion schedule is needed.
The one thing that persists is the device-local data described above (your preferences and optional activity log), which stays in your browser until you delete it. We could not delete it for you even if we wanted to: we have no access to it.
10Security
The strongest protection for your documents is architectural: data that is never transmitted cannot be intercepted in transit or breached from a server. Beyond that, the site is served over HTTPS, and all processing runs inside your browser’s sandbox using well-maintained open-source libraries.
We recommend keeping your browser up to date, since your browser is where the work happens.
11Your rights (GDPR, CCPA, and others)
Privacy laws such as the EU/UK GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act give you rights over personal data an organization holds about you: access, correction, deletion, portability, objection, and the right not to have your data sold.
FernPDF satisfies these by design: because we do not collect or store personal data about you, there is no profile to access, correct, export, or erase, and nothing to opt out of. The data you control (your theme, preferences, and optional activity log in localStorage) lives on your device, where you can view it, switch it off, or delete it directly from the account page or your browser settings.
You can still exercise any right, or ask us questions, by emailing [email protected]. If you are in the EU/UK and believe we have not addressed your concern, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
12Children's privacy
FernPDF does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children. Because the tools require no account and transmit no personal data, there is no mechanism by which a child’s data could be gathered through normal use of the site.
13Changes to this policy
If we change how the site works in a way that affects your privacy (for example, adding accounts, real AI processing, or analytics), we will update this policy and the “Last updated” date at the top before the change takes effect. Material changes will be announced prominently on this page. The current version always lives at fernpdf.joshuaalanfernandes.com/privacy.
14Contact us
Questions about this policy or how FernPDF works? Email [email protected] and a human will reply. For the rules governing your use of the site, see our Terms & Conditions.