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How to check that your files are not uploaded

Almost every Devtoolry tool says “Runs in your browser · Nothing uploaded”. You do not have to take our word for it. Your browser can show you every request a page makes, and a tool that works with the internet switched off cannot be sending your files anywhere. Both checks take about a minute.

Check 1: watch the Network tab

  1. Open the tool, for example the EXIF remover or Merge PDF.
  2. Open the developer tools: press F12 (or Ctrl+Shift+I) in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, or Cmd+Option+I on a Mac. In Safari, first turn on Settings › Advanced › Show features for web developers.
  3. Choose the Network tab, tick Preserve log and clear the list.
  4. Now use the tool with your file, and download the result.
  5. Look at the list. Click the Method column to sort it: an upload is a POST or PUT request whose size is about the size of your file, and its Payload tab shows what was sent.

What you will see, and why it is not your file:

  • GET requests for code and models. The first time you use a tool, its code and any engine it needs are downloaded: PDF and OCR engines, compilers, and the small AI models used by Blur Face and the Background Remover. These go one way, to your browser, and are cached for later visits.
  • Analytics. Google Analytics receives the page address and basic browser details (see the privacy policy). A tool's input is never part of the address, so it is not included.
  • Blob URLs. Previews and downloads appear as blob: addresses. These point to memory inside your own browser, not to a server.

Check 2: switch the internet off

  1. Open the tool and use it once with any file, so its code and models are downloaded and cached.
  2. Disconnect: turn on airplane mode, unplug the network, or pick Offline in the throttling menu of the Network tab.
  3. Use the tool again with your real file.

If it still works and you can download the result, the work happened on your device: there was no connection to upload anything through. Reconnect when you are done.

Tools that do use our server

Some tools cannot work in the browser alone, because browsers are not allowed to read other websites or because the work needs a server. Their pages do not say “Nothing uploaded”, and each explains under “About” exactly what is sent. None of them store what you send. They are:

Why it matters

Many free online tools upload your file, process it on their server and send the result back. That can be fine, but you cannot see what happens to the file afterwards: how long it is kept, who can read it, or whether it ends up in a breach. Photos carry your location and faces, and PDFs carry contracts, IDs and bank statements. When the work happens in your browser, the question does not arise.

Found a request you cannot explain? Tell us through the contact form and we will look into it.