Privacy Policy
This policy explains what happens to your files and data when you use PDF Chroma at pdfchroma.com. We've tried to write it in plain language rather than dense legal text — if anything is unclear, feel free to reach out via GitHub.
The short version
We process your files to perform the action you requested (merge, convert, compress, etc.), send you the result, and then delete the files. We don't read, inspect, sell, or share the content of your documents with anyone. We use Google Analytics to understand overall site traffic, which involves cookies and some non-personal usage data.
Files you upload
When you upload a file to use one of our tools, it is temporarily stored on our server solely to perform the requested operation. Files are:
- Processed only for the specific action you requested (e.g. merging, compressing, converting)
- Deleted automatically from our server immediately after your download completes
- Deleted automatically by a cleanup process every 30 minutes regardless, in case a download is never completed
- Never viewed, read, or inspected by us manually
- Never shared with any third party, sold, or used for any purpose other than fulfilling your request
We do not maintain backups of uploaded or processed files. Once deleted, a file cannot be recovered by us or by you through this site.
Password-protected files
If you use the Protect PDF or Unlock PDF tools, any password you enter is used only in the moment of processing to encrypt or decrypt your file — it is not logged, stored, or retained anywhere on our server after the request completes.
What we automatically collect
Like most websites, our server automatically logs basic technical information for security and reliability purposes, including your IP address, browser type, and request timestamps. This is standard web server behavior, used only to keep the service running reliably and to prevent abuse (for example, rate-limiting excessive requests from a single source).
Cookies and analytics
We use Google Analytics to understand how many people visit the site, which pages are popular, and how visitors generally navigate the site. This involves cookies placed by Google and the collection of non-personally-identifiable usage data (such as which pages you visited and for how long).
Google's use of this data is governed by Google's own Privacy Policy. We do not combine this analytics data with the content of any files you upload — the two systems are entirely separate.
You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking generally by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, or by using a browser extension that blocks analytics trackers.
What we don't do
- We don't sell your data to anyone, ever
- We don't show ads or use ad-tracking networks
- We don't require an account, email address, or any personal information to use the tools
- We don't read the content of your documents
Your rights
Depending on where you're located, you may have rights under data protection laws (such as the GDPR if you're in the EU/EEA) including the right to know what data is processed about you and to request deletion. Since we don't retain uploaded files or require accounts, there's generally very little personal data to request — the main data that exists is the automated analytics data described above, which is managed through your Google Analytics opt-out settings.
Third-party tools we use
PDF Chroma's backend uses several open-source tools to process files, including pdf-lib, LibreOffice, poppler-utils, and qpdf. These run entirely on our own server — none of them send your file data anywhere external.
Children's privacy
PDF Chroma is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we'll update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the site after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
Questions about this policy can be raised via our GitHub repository.