Privacy Policy

We do NOT collect:

• Your PDF files or their contents
• Personal information (name, email, phone, etc.)
• Payment information (our service is completely free)
• Location data beyond basic country-level analytics

We only collect:

• Anonymous usage statistics (page views, tool usage counts)
• Basic technical information (browser type, device type)
• Error logs that help us improve our service

All PDF processing happens directly in your web browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly technology. This means:

• Your files never leave your device
• No data is transmitted to our servers
• Processing happens instantly without upload/download delays
• Your documents remain completely private
• Even we cannot see or access your files

You can verify this yourself by monitoring your network traffic while using our tools - you'll see that no file data is transmitted.

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies for analytics and advertising:

• Strictly Necessary Cookies: Required for the site to function (e.g. saving your consent choices). Cannot be disabled.
• Analytics Cookies: Anonymous usage statistics via Google Analytics (page views, tool usage counts, browser/device type).
• Advertising Cookies: Google AdSense for displaying ads. May be personalized or non-personalized based on your consent.

Consent Management: If you visit from the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you'll see a cookie consent banner on your first visit. You can accept all, reject non-essential cookies, or customize your choices. We use Google Consent Mode v2 so that ad and analytics tags only fire when you've granted consent.

You can change or withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the “Cookie Settings” link in our footer.

Information collected via cookies may include: IP address (truncated where possible), browser type and version, operating system, device type, language preferences, referring URLs, and pages visited.

You can also manage cookies through your browser settings or visit allaboutcookies.org for more information. To opt out of interest-based advertising from Google, visit Google Ads Settings or the industry pages at youradchoices.com and youronlinechoices.eu.

Because PDF processing happens entirely in your browser, we have no PDF files or document content to retain. The only data subject to retention is the analytics and advertising data described above:

• Google Analytics data: Retained for up to 14 months, then automatically deleted.
• Cloudflare access logs: Retained according to Cloudflare's privacy policy (typically a few days to 30 days, used for security and DDoS protection).
• Contact form submissions: Stored only as long as needed to respond to your inquiry (typically up to 12 months), then deleted on request.
• Consent records: Stored on your device for up to 6 months so you don't see the consent banner on every visit.
• Advertising cookie data: Retention is governed by Google AdSense's policies (linked in the Third-Party Services section).

We use essential third-party services:

• Google Analytics: For anonymous usage statistics
• Cloudflare: For content delivery and DDoS protection
• Google AdSense: For displaying relevant advertisements

None of these services have access to your PDF files or their contents, as all processing happens locally in your browser.

This site displays advertisements served by Google AdSense. Google may use cookies and similar technologies to show you ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. You can opt out of personalized advertising at any time at Google Ads Settings.

For more information on how Google uses information from sites that use its services, see Google's Partner Sites policy.

The PDF Smaller Chrome Extension provides quick access to our tools via a toolbar popup and right-click context menu. The extension's privacy practices are consistent with our website:

• No data collection: The extension does not collect, store, or transmit any user data or file contents
• No tracking or analytics: The extension contains no tracking scripts, analytics, or telemetry
• Minimal permissions: Only the contextMenus permission is used — no access to page content, browsing history, or tabs
• No remote code: All extension code is bundled locally with no external script loading
• Deep linking: When you right-click a PDF link, the URL is passed to pdfsmaller.com via a query parameter. The PDF is then fetched by your browser directly — it does not pass through our servers

The extension simply opens pdfsmaller.com tool pages. All file processing still happens 100% in your browser, as described above.

We take security seriously:

• All connections are encrypted with HTTPS/TLS
• We regularly update our dependencies and libraries
• Our infrastructure is protected by Cloudflare
• We follow security best practices for web applications
• No user data to breach since we don't store any

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and equivalent local laws give you the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to access — request a copy of any personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data.
• Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) — ask us to delete your data.
• Right to restrict processing — ask us to limit how we use your data.
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a portable format.
• Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent — at any time, with no effect on prior lawful processing.
• Right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

Legal bases we rely on: consent (for analytics and advertising cookies), legitimate interests (for security, fraud prevention, and basic site operation), and contract performance (where applicable).

To exercise any of these rights, email us at admin@pdfsmaller.com. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), gives you the following rights:

• Right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold.
• Right to delete personal information we've collected from you.
• Right to correct inaccurate personal information.
• Right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• Right to limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information.
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising any of these rights.

Do we “sell” personal information? We do not sell personal information for money. However, the use of advertising cookies (Google AdSense) may be considered “sharing” under the CPRA's broad definition. You can opt out at any time using the “Cookie Settings” link in our footer or by enabling the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal in your browser, which we honor automatically.

To submit a CCPA request, email admin@pdfsmaller.com. We will verify your request and respond within 45 days.

PDF Smaller is a general-audience website and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA, in line with local law).

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided personal information to us, please contact admin@pdfsmaller.com and we will promptly delete it. We also serve only non-personalized ads to users we know to be under the applicable age threshold.